


Charges of the Flame Alchemist

by Artdirector123



Series: Blue exorcist FMA crossover [1]
Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist, Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Demons, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Somethings change for the better, Tiny okumura twins, crossover AU, fatherly roy, paternal roy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-15 15:46:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 94,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7228747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artdirector123/pseuds/Artdirector123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Rin's powers start revealing themselves at a much younger age, Shiro has no choice to send him and his brother somewhere else for their own protection: a place without demons or exorcists where an unlikely man who owes shiro his life lives. Full story set in Brotherhood time like with a few aspects taken from early 03 episodes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When One Door Closes...

Shiro had always known that it wouldn’t last forever. That didn't stop him from hoping it would last. He had hoped the plan would have worked, and they could have lived normal human lives, and up until now it had worked. But that was only wishful thinking. The boys were the sons of Satan after all. Sooner or later, someone would figure it out. He had just hoped he would have had a few more years before an incident would occur. They were only seven after all. A Vatican owned helicopter flew overhead. The priest quickly tugged his adoptive sons back into the shadows and away from the search light. He sighed as it passed overhead. And to think, Yukio was supposed to start his exorcist training this year....  
“Dad! Stop tugging me!” Rin cried, voice rising in pitch as he struggled against the priest’s grip on his wrist, “I don’t like this! I wanna stop and rest!”  
“Dad, what’s really going on?” Yukio cried, “Why are there helicopters chasing us? Why are we hiding?”  
Shiro sighed. This had all started a few days ago. Sir Angel Agustus, exorcist in training to become a paladin, had stopped by to talk to the priest, hoping to learn from him as he was the current palidin. However, the exorcist found out an entirely different kind of information. Rin had been throwing a fit about the man. Angel would be staying at the monastery temporarily to learn from Shiro, and for whatever reason, Rin really didn’t like that idea. He hated the man from the moment he saw him. He had started screaming and shouting about it, until finally, with one shout, all the candles currently lit in the monastery flickered blue and the flames grew in size, an obvious indicator of the child's inheritance.  
It had only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough for the realisation to dawn on the young exorcist...and for him to alert the Vatican. Another search light passed over them. Shiro swore under his breath before looking back down at the boys. “I’m sorry but I don’t have time to explain,” he said, “All I can say is there are a lot of people who want to hurt us right now. We need to find Mephisto and get you two somewhere safe.” Before they could ask anything more, he continued to drag them along.  
Finally they reached the the meeting place the priest and the demon set up: an old warehouse. The three entered through the busted door and walked into the dark center space. It was cold and damp and smelled of mildew. Koltars were floating everywhere, and Yukio desperately tried to swat the tiny fly like demons away. “I don’t like this place!” he cried, tears spilling down his face as he gave up trying to get rid of them, “I want to go home!”  
“Yeah!” Rin exclaimed moving towards his brother to comfort him, “This place is terrible. It’s cold and it smells awful! We aren’t gonna have to live here now are we?”  
Shiro’s eyes softened as he knelt down beside the boys. “Hey, calm down! It’ll be alright,” he said soothingly, placing a hand on each of their backs, “You guys aren’t going to live here. You won’t even have to be here for much longer,” he assured, “We just have to wait here long enough for Mephisto to show up.”  
“Did someone call my name?” a voice echoed in the darkness. The three turned to see the demon in the white suit step out of the darkness. “My, my they certainly grow up fast. The last time I saw them they were each barely bigger that a small house cat,” the man noted.  
Rin stepped in front of his younger brother and glared at the man. “Who are you?” he demanded.  
“Oh, where are my manners. Sir Mephisto Pheles at your service,” he said with a bow and a tip of his hat. “Now that introductions are out of the order, it’s time for you boys to say your goodbyes and come with me,” he said standing up straight again.  
The two children looked shocked. “Wh-what?!” Rin cried before turning to Shiro, “Dad, what is he talking about?! Are you just gonna leave us with this weirdo?”  
Shiro felt his a pang of sorrow in his heart as he looked down at the boy’s betrayed expressions. “I’m sorry,” he said solemnly, “But you two can’t stay with me anymore. It isn’t safe.”  
Both of them looked heartbroken at his words. Rin was the first to respond by growling while kicking and punching the old priest's leg. “Grrr!” he roared, “How could you do this to us?! You’re our dad! I thought you cared about us!” Tears rolled down his face as he continued.  
Yukio just looked up at him in shock. “Dad...why? Why do we have to leave?” Yukio asked, “Is it because of the people chasing us?”  
“Correct,” Mephisto interjected, “The Vatican has found out about your brother’s little powers and will not rest until they’ve destroyed the both of you.”  
“Why? We didn’t do anything wrong!” Rin shouted.  
“It’s not what you did Rin, it’s your ancestry,” Shiro explained, “While your mother was human, your father was the most powerful demon of all, Satan himself.” The two boys looked shocked. “While I know both of you are good boys, the Vatican doesn’t, and so they fear you. They fear you will side with the devil to destroy humanity,” he finished.  
“But that’s not fair!” Rin snapped, balling his hands into fists and sniffling, “You said it yourself, we’re good! Why can’t they just give us a chance? It’s not fair! It’s not fair! It’s not fair!” The little boy began stamping his feet and shaking his head.  
Shiro knelt down to hug the both of them. “I’m sorry. I wish I could change things. wish I could make them see the good in you two, but the Vatican doesn’t like taking chances. And with Rin’s powers emerging, it’s only a matter of time before you become targets for other demons,” Shiro said hugging them tightly, frustrated with himself that he couldn’t do anything more.  
“Where are we gonna go?” Yukio asked.  
“To another world,” Shiro said, “One free from demons.” He and Mephisto had this backup plan for a while. He had discovered this world a few years after boys were born. Mephisto had called him in for a favor for his continuous silence on the matter of the young antichrists. As the demon king of time and space, he had access to planes of existence that even satan couldn’t reach, and in one such world he had to help stop the breakdown of the gate that would let the demons of Gehenna in. Mephisto had claimed these holes had grown from years of idiots trying to play god and breakthrough to the realm of the dead.  
While he was there, clearing out what had already leaked through, he had saved the life of a soldier who he was soon able to call friend as he spent time in that strange world. That man claimed he was indebt to him, something about equivalent exchange. Although back then Shiro didn’t believe the man owed him anything, he hoped now that man was still alive and willing to repay that debt.  
“You’re going to be looked after there by an old friend of mine,” he explained.  
“But I don’t want to be looked after by someone else! I want to be looked after by you!” Rin argued.  
“Can’t you come with us?” Yukio asked.  
“No can do,” Mephisto jumped in, “While I do have close ties to the gate keeper of the world, he’s a very strict being with stricter laws and grueling punishments for breaking them, and he made it very clear that I’m only allowed two traveling companions with me at a time. Honestly, I like keeping my head and other assorted body parts and I don’t think Shiro would appreciate you losing any of yours, so I’m not about to argue with him.” Helicopters sounded overhead. “And with that fast approaching issue,” Mephisto said, pointing upwards, “I doubt I’ll be able to come back in time to snag Shiro too.” “Now come along, children,” he said, turning on his heel and brandishing a strange gold key. The grip was shaped like the ouroboros. He walked up to a door and placed it in the lock before turning and opening it, revealing a vast, empty whiteness. “We have no time to waste,” he finished.  
Shiro hugged them both one last time. “Stay strong, you two. Make sure you look after each other,” he said, squeezing them tightly, “Be good and make me proud. Remember, I’ll always love you two, no matter what happens.” His heart broke as he had to let them go after a long minute. The priest stood up slowly as he mechanically handed Mephisto the koma sword, a package with a note, and the two boys. His heart broke even more as Rin struggled as the demon took the two boys by the hands and dragged them away.  
“No!” He shrieked, “I don’t want to go! Don’t make me! I don’t want to go!” He fought all the way until the door closed behind him, leaving Shiro alone in the darkness.  
“Not for long…” he thought as he heard the footsteps of the knights of the true cross approaching.  
…  
As soon as the door closed behind Rin, he was quiet. First in despair over what had just occurred, and then in awe and fear as to where he now found himself. The white void that surrounded them went on forever. Neither of the boys could see the end. There was nothing but empty whiteness for miles around…that is, except for a single gate. As they drew closer, the twins saw a pure white figure standing next to it. The two held onto each other and fear filled their hearts as they gazed upon it. It was a creature without a nose or eyes, but a single wide grin. Mephisto nodded to it as they passed it. It seemed to stare them down somehow as they walked by it and exited through the gate.  
They exited the white void and found themselves standing outside an abandoned warehouse in the dark of the night surrounded by other warehouses. A large number thirteen was painted on the side. The boys gasped as it disappeared as Mephisto lead them away, leaving nothing but a vacant lot behind them. “Let’s see…” the demon muttered as he pulled out piece of paper from his coat and squinted at it, “What was his address again? Ah, there it is!” With that, he folded the paper back up and stuffed it into his coat. Leading the children along again.  
….


	2. An Offer He couldn't Refuse

Roy Mustang walked alone back to his home, shoulders slumped from the weariness of the long day and life itself. It had been a year since the the war in Ishval ended, and yet he could still feel the guilt of what he had done weighing on his mind and soul. Flashbacks and nightmares were not uncommon. At least he had stopped considering human transmutation to bring back the two doctors that had died at his hands, though he couldn’t tell if that was actually healing or just realising how stupid of an idea it would be. Either way, he was done dealing with it all today. All he hoped for now, was a long, uneventful night of dreamless sleep.  
That hope was crushed however, as he entered his house only to find a strange man in a white suit sitting on his armchair, drinking tea. “My, my this is delicious. Might I ask what store you got it from?” the man asked as he set the cup back on the saucer.  
Roy blinked at the strange man before pulling out his ignition gloves and preparing to snap at him. “If you don’t want to get your ass roasted in the next ten seconds, you better tell me who you are and how the hell you got into my house!” he demanded, glaring at the odd looking man.  
The man grinned a large toothy grin (revealing an unusually large set of canines) before chuckling and setting down the saucer and cup on the coffee table. “Such language!” the man tutted teasingly, “Oh Mustang, I expected better of you, being a colonel and all. You really should watch you mouth while in the presence of children!” He then jabbed his thumb in the direction of two boys whom he had not noticed seated on the couch, watching him with a mixture of confusion and suspicion.  
Roy blinked again in surprise before turning back to the ostentatious man and glared at him. “You didn’t answer my questions! Who are you and how did you get in here?” he demanded again.  
“We got in through the door like any normal person,” Mephisto explained with a shrug, “What did you expect a man like me to crawl in through the window?” “As for your first question,” he said standing up and walking over to Roy, “I am Sir Mephisto Pheles, a close friend of Father Shiro Fujimoto.” He tipped his hat to the state alchemist.  
Roy’s eyes widened and he took a step back. “You know Shiro Fujimoto?” he asked in surprise. He had met the man a little before he had become a state alchemist. He and a few other soldiers had been surrounded by strange hideous-looking, patchwork chimeras that stank of rotten flesh. The creatures had killed two of the three men he had been with. It looked almost hopeless as neither normal bullets nor his own flame alchemy could stop them. Then Shiro had stepped in and dispelled them with some kind of water based bomb. It was like a miracle. He owed that man his life. If he had stepped in even a moment later, Roy might have very well found himself torn to shreds by one of those monstrosities.  
Mephisto nodded. “Shiro is actually the reason why I am here,” the demon said, “You see, he’s in a bit of a pinch. He needs you to pay back your debt to him.”  
Roy’s gaze steeled. “What does he need? Did he get injured? Is he a prisoner somewhere?” Roy asked.  
“No, at least, not that I know of yet,” Mephisto said, “And he doesn’t want your help with that anyways. He needs you to look after these boys.” He pointed to the kids seated on the couch with his umbrella. One of them looked down in embarassment at being put on the spot while the other crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.  
Roy gawked in surprise, glancing between the boys and the demon. “You can’t be serious!” he responded.  
“Oh, I am dead serious, Mustang,” Mephisto said, smile falling, “Shiro has risked life and limb to make sure these two got to you safely.”  
“Well then he got the wrong guy for the job, because there is no way I can take care of them! I don’t know the first thing about looking after kids,” Roy retorted, “Besides, I’m a colonel now. I can’t balance taking care of them and keeping my subordinates in check!” To be honest, he was barely capable of taking care of himself right now. The war in Ishval had left him in a steep depression that he just starting to climb out of now. There was no way he could handle the stress of looking after these two on top of that!  
“Do we really have to live with this guy?” Rin complained, “I don’t like him. He does nothing but yell!”  
“See? Even they don’t want to be here!” he pointed out, gesturing to them before turning and walking further into his home, “Find someone else or take them back. They can’t stay here.”  
Mephisto frowned as he watched him walk up the stairs. Then, as an idea popped into his mind, a wicked grin spread across his face.  
“Very well then,” he said turning towards the door, “Come along children.”  
“Where are we going now?” Yukio asked.  
“Back home of course,” he said as if it were obvious, “We failed, so now I have no choice but to turn you over to the Vatican.”  
“Wh-what?!” The boys cried together. Roy tried to ignore them but he hesitated in his steps.  
“Oh yes. After all, there isn’t anyone else I can leave you with that we can trust that wouldn’t be suspected of harboring you immediately,” he said.  
“N-no! I don’t want to go with them! You can’t make us!” Rin shouted grabbing his brother’s hand.  
Mephisto tutted. “I’m afraid you have no choice,” he said, grabbing their wrists, “Goodbye, Colonel. It was nice meeting you. I’ll make sure to let you know how their execution goes.”  
Roy finally stopped and turned to the demon. “Execution? What do you mean execution?” he demanded, glaring at him.  
The demon dropped the boys wrists. “Oh dear me, have I forgotten to mention?” Mephisto said, bring a hand to his mouth in faux distress, "In their world, these boys were born from a heresy, a taboo. They are considered abominations, crimes against nature itself. If the Vatican gets ahold of them, they will surely be put to death.”  
Roy’s eyebrows knitted together in anger and disgust at the idea. “How are they abominations? What crime did they commit by being born?” he questioned, voice low.  
“You see, that’s the problem. I’m not allowed to tell anyone. Shiro swore me to secrecy,” Mephisto said making an “oops!” gesture. “But,” he continued, pulling out an envelope, “All the information you need to know about their situation is in this letter. However, I can only give it to you if you accept taking custody of the children.” Roy stared at the man in the white suit for a moment, disbelievingly. Mephisto narrowed his eyes at the man as he continued to smile, challenging him. “But, as you said, you’ve already made your decision, now haven’t you?” he said breaking eye contact and turning around as he put the letter back, “Come, boys. We must be going now.” The boys didn’t move, fearful of their fate if they left.  
“I wonder how they’ll do away with you two,” he mused, “Maybe they’ll torture you to death, or get it over quickly by bringing in a firing squad.” Sweat began to form on Roy’s brow and his stomach began to churn. He glanced over to the boys, seeing them with mouths open wide in horror and holding each other, paralyzed in fear. “Course, because you’re only children they might go the humane route and bring back the guillotine,” Mephisto continued. Roy felt like he was going to throw up from the guilt and anger building inside him. He could feel the eyes of the two children on him, begging him to help them. The cries for mercy filled his mind again as his it fell out of the moment for a few seconds. “Oh who am I kidding!” the demon cried almost cheerfully, “They’ll probably burn you two at the stake! After all, that's what they usually do for heri-”  
“Stop!” Roy cried. He panted and all eyes were on him. “Just stop! I’ll take care of them,” he relented, “I’ll do as Shiro wanted and look after them the best I can. I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to them.”  
Mephisto grinned wickedly. Hook, line, and sinker. “Splendid!” he cried, before pulling some forms and a ice cream cone shaped pen out of his coat. “I just need you to sign here, here, and here!” he said, gesturing to a spot on each form to which the colonel obliged. “Excellent!” he cried once roy had finished. He then handed him one of the forms. “This is for you,” he said before handing him the package, the envelope and the sword, “as well as this and this and this! But for your own good, don’t open the sword. The letter will explain why.” Roy nodded, still feeling sick to his stomach. “Oh and one more thing…” the demon said with a smirk, “Congratulations on becoming a parent!”  
Roy glared at him. “Go to hell, Bastard!” he growled.  
“Been there, done that,” Mephisto responded, “I’d really prefer Switzerland. Anyways, ta-ta!” With that, he left the flame alchemist alone with the two boys.  
He turned to them, wearily. “So what now?” he asked them. They both shrugged. “It’s late...I supposed I should be getting you to bed.” It was then that he heard one of their stomachs growl. Roy sighed. “After I get you two something to eat,” he said, walking over to the kitchen.


	3. An open letter

It was awkwardly silent as Roy searched his pantry for something simple to make for the children. Although he used to do it a lot, he rarely cooked for himself anymore from either eating out or being too tired to prepare anything so there wasn’t much in there that hadn’t gone stale aside from a few cans of beans. He mostly used it for storing wine that he had been gifted but never opened. He really was more more partial to brandy honestly. As he noticed all bottles, he thought about how he would have to move them to a higher shelf later so the two couldn’t get into them. Finally he found a half empty box of spaghetti that still seemed good.  
“Hey, do either of you like spaghetti?” he asked.  
The two looked at each other before the one with glasses responded. “We’ve never really had any kind of italian food before besides pizza,” he explained.  
Roy raised an eyebrow. Italian? What was that? He shook his head. I didn’t matter. “Well, I guess you’ll get to try some then,” he said walking over to the stove and began preparing to heat up some water. Several minutes passed in silence. It was a bit odd having them there. It was almost like he could feel them watching him as he made their meal. It had been a long time since he had a guest over that wasn’t Maes or a date (though rarely did he actually bring them to his home).  
Finally one of them broke the silence with a loud sigh. “I’m bored!” he said, sliding down the couch.  
“Rin!” his brother hissed.  
“Just wait for a few more minutes,” he said adding a pinch of salt to the water, “Then i’ll be able to strain it and you can eat.” The boy huffed and the room fell into silence again. Not a few seconds later, he could tell the kid was starting to fidget. Roy frowned. He didn’t want the kid throwing a fit on his first night here. He was too tired to deal with that. “Looks like I’ll have to make conversation then,” he thought. “So, what are your names? Sir Pheles didn’t tell me,” he suddenly spoke up.  
The boy with glasses sat up. “My name is Yukio and this is my brother Rin,” he explained.  
“Interesting names,” Roy responded, “Are they common where you are from?”  
“I guess,” Yukio responded, “I mean some are definitely more common than they are.”  
“And where are you from?” he asked as he continued stirring, “Where did you live before here?”  
“We used to live in a monastery in Japan,” Rin responded this time, “It was really nice. There was a park nearby with a nice swing set. We used to play on it all the time…I’m gonna miss that swing set.” Both boys looked down sadly as they were reminded again that they were stuck in this place.  
Roy remembered Fujimoto saying he was from the same country. Guess if they knew him so well they’d have to be from the same place. “There are plenty of parks in Central you can visit,” Roy assured, “I’m sure you can find one with a swing set like that.” He swore he heard the kid mutter that it wasn’t the same under his breath. “Time to change subjects then,” he thought. “So how did you meet Shiro?” Roy asked.  
That didn’t seem to lighten the mood too much however. “We don’t know,” Yukio said innocently, “We were too young to remember and he never told us the real story.”  
“How young were you?” he asked.  
Both shrugged. “Babies,” Rin stated bluntly, “Dad found us one winter and took us in.”  
Roy turned and looked at them in surprise. They were his kids?! Never in a million years would he thought Shiro would agree to settle down, let alone adopt two boys. He was a good man but he never seemed like parent material...much like Roy himself. “Shiro was your father?” he asked in disbelief. Both boys nodded. At least that explained why he was so desperate to protect them, especially if they were seen as abominations. Before he could ask anything more, the timer went off and Roy had to strain the pasta. He then set a place for each of them and pulled up some chairs. After helping them up he got his own dish He watched curiously as they clasped their hands together and thanked some unknown figure before they began eating but said nothing.  
Once their meal was finished he sent them to go wash up before bed. It was then that he realised the boys didn’t have any spare clothes with them, nor had he fixed them any place to sleep. He frowned before going upstairs to look for something suitable for them. He found some old long sleeve shirts they could wear to sleep in. They’d just have to roll up the sleeves. He had a few spare sheets and a guest room too, though there was only one bed. Hopefully they wouldn’t mind. He’d have to figure out a real time to get them more clothes though.  
He walked to the bathroom to see the boys trying to hoist each other up to wash their hands. He gave them a curious look before helping them himself.  
“Hey!” Rin cried as the man suddenly grabbed him.  
“You two are going to hurt yourselves like that. Here,” he said lifting him to the sink. Rin blinked in surprise before nodding and washing his face. Roy did the same for Yukio before he gave them the shirts. “You can use these to sleep in,” he explained.  
“I’m not sleeping in this! I’ll look like a little girl,” Rin protested.  
Roy’s eye twitched before he huffed and said, “It’s either this, or sleep in those filthy thing.” He pointed at the clothes Rin was currently wearing. Rin frowned but nodded and accepted the shirt. With that he took them to the guest room and helped them onto the bed before turning off the light and leaving. He threw the clothes the boys had been wearing into the washing machine before heading back to his room. He dropped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed something also on the bed: the package and other things the odd man in the suit had left him. While he was curious about the sword, he remember the warning he was given and opted to examine the other items. He looked at the signed form he had been given and noticed it was a formal adoption paper for the two boys. He frowned at it before setting it aside and opening the letter. He opened up the folded parchment inside and began reading.

Dear Roy,  
If you’re reading this, then I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to you. These boys are my whole world. I’m sorry for pushing this on you. I know you didn't ask for this. I’m also sorry if Mephisto gave you any trouble. His way of convincing people can be less than ethical at times.

Roy scoffed and rolled his eyes at that. Less than ethical is an understatement. 

None the less, I do have great trust in him. If you hadn’t figured it out already by what he told you, the boys aren’t safe here. The Vatican is after them because they aren’t exactly human. 

Roy’s brow furrowed in confusion.

Their mother was human, but their father was one of the most powerful demons in existence, Satan. I know you don’t believe in demons or spirits, but in our world they're very real. They have been made aware of their heritage, or will be by the time you read this, Rin was born with the power of the blue flame. His brother did not receive any powers that we know of because he was too weak at birth. For all intents and purposes, he is entirely human.  
While there have been a few instances of blue flames popping up when he becomes too emotional, Rin’s demonic powers have been mostly sealed away inside the sword Mephisto gave you, Kurikara. 

Roy glanced at the katana before continuing to read the letter.

Whatever you do, do not open it. Doing so will unleash Rin’s demon half. He will never be able to become truly human again. He may even lose himself in his demonic powers if he does so. I don’t know what he would be like in that state.

Roy frowned. He hoped he would never have to see the boy like that. He couldn’t help but feel a slight shiver of fear at the idea. “And he wants me to take care of this boy?” Roy thought to himself. He’d have to find a place to hide the sword so no one could get to it.

I’m sorry if any of that made you weary about looking after them, but you needed to know if worse comes to worse. Really, they are good kids, though Rin can have quite the temper and be quick to act, he always means well. I know you can handle them. 

“I highly doubt that,” Roy muttered.

Speaking of worse comes to worse, in the package I’ve left you some things that will help you fight demons if necessary. Mephisto says the holes between the worlds were created through people trying to play god with the use of alchemy. I doubt anything more will bleed through since we patched it up last time, but since I doubt I’ll be able to do anything to help fix them if there’s more damage. There should be a guide that will teach you about different kinds of demons and how to stop them, as well as a book of killing verses. 

Roy opened the package to find a bible, a large encyclopedia of demons and defence against them, a canister of something called holy water….and a stuffed dog and children’s books?! He blinked in confusion before turning back to the letter for an explanation.

If you’re wondering about the other things in there, those aren’t for fighting demons, those are for Rin and Yukio. They’re some of their favorite books and toys. There should be a small list of some notes about taking care of them hidden in one of the books.

Roy rolled his eyes before continuing to read.

Something else I should warn you about: if you see a demon, no one else is going to be able to. Well, besides Yukio, anyways. You’re not going crazy or seeing things, they’re really there, but no one else can see them because they don’t have a temptant. A temptant is a wound caused by a supernatural being, usually a demon. You got one when you were attacked by those ghouls, or “chimeras” as you call them, and Yukio has had his since he was born. Rin can’t see them, however, because he doesn’t have a temptant. Because of this, they may be attracted to you. Again, you shouldn’t run into any demons, but just in case, be careful. And thank you. Thank you for everything, old friend.  
Sincerely,  
Fr. Shiro Fujimoto

Roy folded up the letter. And lied back down on his bed. He rubbed his hands down his face and sighed. What the hell had he gotten himself into? His first instinct was right. There was no way he could handle this. But there was no way he could just leave those children on their own, especially not with the death penalty looming over their heads. Maybe he could pawn them off to Maes Hughes. His friend had always told him he wanted to be a parent…  
Roy shook his head and sat up again. He couldn’t do that to him. Especially if Rin’s weird powers started acting up. Or Yukio attracted something like those ghouls from before. No, Shiro was right. It had to be him. He turned to look at demon guide book. Maybe he should take a look. If nothing else than to make sure he can defend himself. He picked up the book and opened it.  
….  
An hour later he was still reading. He didn’t enjoy what he read. If anything it terrified him to know these things existed, even if they only did in another reality. He was wondering whether to consider himself lucky that he never had to deal with this stuff on a daily basis like Shiro. Finally he closed it. He didn’t need to give himself any more reason to have nightmares than he already did.  
No sooner had he closed it than did he hear a crash come from the kitchen. He nearly jumped at the sound. What the hell was that?! What idiot would try to rob the house of an army officer at this hour? Suddenly Shiro’s words echoed in his mind. "Because of this, they may be attracted to you." There were now two people in the house with a temptant. Twice the demon attraction power. What if the three of them entering this world let something else through? Roy stealed his gaze as he grabbed his gloves and the canister of holy water.  
He slowly crept downstairs. He couldn’t hear anything moving but he could see something small, so he reached for the light switch and turned on them on…but instead of seeing some hideous monster, he saw Yukio standing next to a broken glass, looking like he was going to cry.  
“I’m sorry Mr. Mustang, Sir!” he squeaked out, keeping his head low, “I didn’t mean to break it I just…” Roy blinked in surprise but relaxed.  
“Ok, calm down,” he said walking over to the boy, “Now what happened? Why are you still up?”  
“I just wanted a glass of water, but it slipped out of my hands as I got off the chair and it broke!” he whimpered, “I’m really sorry, Sir!”  
Roy looked down at the mess of broken glass and water. To be honest, it wasn’t that upsetting. He could always replace the glass. “It’s fine. It was just an accident after all,” he said with a sigh, “But next time be more careful. Now are you injured anywhere?” The boy shook his head no. “Good,” Roy said standing up and getting him a different glass. “Now off to bed with you,” he said, handing him the glass. Yukio nodded and climbed up the stairs to the guest room with the glass in hand.  
Roy sighed as he looked at the mess before him. He glanced at the clock and it was almost midnight. “So much for getting to bed early,” he thought as he began picking up the pieces of glass. Maybe tomorrow would be better. Roy’s eyes suddenly widened. Tomorrow! He had to go to work tomorrow! But he couldn’t just leave these two alone. They were what...seven? Maybe? He could be charged with child abuse if he left them alone all day! He had to figure something out and quick!


	4. A surprise visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Father's Day everyone! Hope you like this chapter!

To be honest, Roy had never gotten the appeal of faking sick for work. Not that he was a workaholic by any means, heck he’d even sneak a nap in during the work day when he could, but it just seemed like a dumb idea for anyone with a desk job. After all, it just meant you had double the work the next day. But in some instances, he could understand how it could be worth it. Like right now. He had to call in sick this morning. He couldn’t find anyone to look after the two in such a short amount of time. And right now, he didn’t think he could find anyone in the whole world that could handle these boys.  
“Stop running in the house!” he shouted as he chased after them. Rin bumped into a lamp stand and Roy stumbled to catch it before it hit the ground. He scowled at the two boys as they disappeared around the corner. He had left them alone for twenty minutes to search the phone books for a nanny for them and the two had started a game of tag and were now tearing up his home. He hadn’t been paying attention and only found out about it after Rin decided to include him in their game. Now he was running around the house after them as “it.”  
They had been going in circles for over a half hour, and the colonel was starting to get sick of this little game. As Roy rounded the corner, he hit his shin against the coffee table and cried out as he fell over, clutching it. Roy glanced up at the clock. It was barely eleven in the morning and he was already worn out. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was some kind of weird form of punishment for all that he had done in the past. The two stopped in their laughing and running and turned to him with concerned expressions.  
“Are you ok Mr. Mustang?” Yukio asked as they ran over to the man in pain, “We’re so sorry! We didn’t mean for you to get hurt!”  
Roy glared up at the two concerned boys. Then he smirked as an idea came to mind. He suddenly lunges for their waists and lifted them up as he climbed to his feet. The two boys let out distressed noises and tried to flail out of his grip but to no avail.  
“What the heck?! Let me go, you jerk!” Rin cried.  
“No way,” Roy said chuckling, “This is what you two get for letting your guard down.” He then carried them to the couch and dropped them in the seat. His smile then faded as he crossed his arms and glared at them. “What the hell had gotten into you two?” he demanded, “I leave you alone for only a few minutes and you start tearing up my home! I’ve told you multiple times not to run in the house! I even told you to stop a few minutes ago. Do you realise how much you could have broken in your recklessness or how hurt you could have gotten?”  
Both boys looked down at the floor shamefully, Yukio was looking like he was afraid to look up and rin was glaring at the white carpet. “We’re sorry Sir…” Yukio said, “We didn’t mean any harm. It even started out as just a game of hide and go seek but it got out of hand.”  
“You should have stopped it before it got that way,” Roy said a little less harshly, “You two are old enough to know right from wrong.”  
“We really are sorry,” Yukio continued, “It’s just…”  
“We’re bored!” Rin interjected, “We’re sick of being cooped up inside here! There's nothing else to do! No toys, no games, no TV, and all your books are too grown up for us to enjoy. We can’t just sit and a desk and stare at papers all day like you!”  
Roy narrowed his eyes at Rin, but in his mind he did realise the kid had a point. While he did have some creature comforts here, really his home was not much more than a place for him to sleep. If he wanted entertainment, he could just go out on the town or borrow something from the library. This place didn’t have anything to offer the children entertainment wise. Roy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. How was he going to make this work? Maybe there would be something on that list that Shiro gave him that could help...  
“You two sit right there and don’t move,” he said, turning to head up stairs. He gave them an “I’ve got my eyes on you” motion before heading to the room. He pulled the sheet of paper hidden in one of the graphic novels from the package and opened it, looking for any information on entertainment. He smiled a bit as he found a sentence saying they knew how to play card games like memory and go fish. That was good. He knew he had a few packs of playing cards somewhere. He dug one out of his drawer and headed down stairs. He threw the pack on the coffee table in front of them.  
“Knock yourselves out boys,” he said. The two smiled before tearing open the pack of cards and starting to shuffle them. Roy smiled with relief and began to walk back to the stairs.  
“Hey, Mr. Mustang!” Yukio called. He turned to them with a raised eyebrow. “Would you like to play a game with us? Its more fun with more people,” he said, “Maybe you could even teach us something.”  
Roy thought for a moment. One game couldn’t hurt.  
…  
Roy slowly lowered his hand holding the card with laser focus. He narrowed his eyes as it hovered above the stack. The two boys looked on in awe, clutching his shoulders as he attempted to place the last card on top of the stack. Gently, he lowered it until it connected with the two other card. The huge house of cards wobbled slightly. The boys held their breath before it stopped and became balanced. Roy smirked and the boys cheered.  
“That’s amazing!” Yukio cried.  
“Yeah!” Rin said, “Now I wanna try! Can I?”  
Roy shrugged. “I don’t see why not,” he said. He collapsed the deck of cards and put them back into a deck for the boys. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Roy looked up in confusion. Who could that be?  
He got up and slowly walked over to the door. He opened it a crack and immediately regretted that action as he saw none other that his best friend Major Hughes grinning at him. “Hey Roy!” he said, “How are you doing? I’m on my lunch break and I’d thought I’d drop off today’s paperwork for you on my way out.”  
“Thanks,” Roy said as he opened the door just enough to step outside and grab the files from him.  
“Hey, wait a minute…” Hughes said giving him a sideways grin, “You look perfectly fine...aside from your clothes and hair being ruffled that its. You’re not sick at all are you?” In fact, in Hughes’ opinion he looked better than he had for a while. He was definitely less somber than usual. He still looked tired though.  
Roy narrowed his eyes. Damn it. “I am sick. Now leave me be,” Roy said grabbing the paper work and trying to hide back in his home.   
Hughes caught the door however. “You know, you don’t need to lie to me about this. You aren’t the only one who’s ever played hooky by faking sick. Heck, I’ve done it at least twice to spend time with Gracia!” he said before a thought came to mind. A sly grin crossed his face. “Is that what you’re hiding? That you’ve found some pretty lady and are trying to spend a ‘special day’ together?” he said.  
Roy growled at him. “Don’t be ridiculous! Now go away!” he snapped, trying to force the door closed, But Maes was immovable.  
“Aww...at least let me meet the girl! I am your best friend after all!” he said trying to shove his way into Roy’s home.  
“There is no girl! Now leave!” Roy snapped.  
“But-”  
“Awww! Damn it!” a tiny voice shouted as cards fluttered to the floor.  
Both men froze. Roy could feel his stomach sinking. “Oh my God…” Major Hughes whispered, as a look of shock plastered his face. Before Roy could do anything more, he was shoved out of the way as Hughes barreled through the door, a look of elation on his face. There he saw two little boys with black hair and blue eyes playing cards. They both looked up at him in confusion. “Oh my GOD!” he cried again, pointing at them. “You didn’t!” he squealed, “You did! I can’t believe it! You actually managed to make a pair of little roylings!” The two boys blinked at him in confusion, but they were too bewildered to respond.  
“Maes, they’re not-” Roy started but was cut off by his friend turning around and glaring at him.  
“Roy, I am disappointed in you! How could you hide these two from me? I spent all this time worrying that you’d never settle down! You better not have made Fuery or Havock their godfather in my place!” he accused, although there was a little hint of amusement in his eyes, “Though I expected you’d want to be married long before you had children running around the house if you ever decided to have them. How old are they anyways?”  
Roy scowled at him. “I haven’t been hiding them from you! I didn’t even know of their existence until last night,” he stated but quickly realised his verbal mistake. But before he could correct himself, Hughe cut him off with a sly grin.  
“An old flame of yours tracked you down and dumped them on you, huh?” he said, “Heh! I wonder why she didn’t try to get ahold of you sooner.” He smiled at Roy’s death glare but once again didn’t let him respond. He walked over to the boys and crouched down to eye level with them. “Hey there little guys!” he said waving his hand at them, “My name is Major Maes Hughes. I’m a friend of Roy, but you can call me Uncle Hughes if you like!” Roy’s eye twitched and his fists shook. “What are your names?” he asked.  
The boys blinked their surprise away. “Uh, Hello Major Hughes... My name is Yukio Okumura and this is my Brother Rin,” the little one with glasses said, “It’s nice to meet you, Sir.”  
Hughes smiled warmly. “Awww...They’re so polite!” he cooed.  
“You’re really weird, you know that?” Rin said giving him an odd look.  
Roy smirked as Hughes stumbled slightly at that comment. “Well one of them is anyways…” Hughes muttered. He then quickly bounced back with a sly smirk at Roy. “At least I know where he gets the cold bluntness from!” he remarked. Roy ran a hand down his face in annoyance. “So,” Hughes said turning back to the boys, “What's it like living with your daddy now? Are you enjoying it? I know he can be a bit of a buzz kill at times.”   
Rin looked offended and Yukio raised an eyebrow. “What are you, crazy?” Rin blurted out, “that Mustang guy isn’t our dad!” Yukio nodded.  
Hughes’ eyes widened in surprise and confusion before turning towards Roy for an explanation.  
Roy sighed. “I’ve been trying to tell you: They. Aren’t. Mine!” he snapped, punctuating each word.  
“Oh….” Hughes said quietly. He then gave Roy a concerned and confused look. “If they aren’t yours, then whose are they? And why are they here?” he asked he stood up, smile now gone.  
Roy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s a long story,” he said, “I’ll explain it to you as I make lunch.”  
…  
“So these kids were being looked after by that weird guy who save your life a few years back?” Hughes clarified. Roy nodded as he turned over a slice of chicken in his frying pan. It simmered quietly as the tiny flames of the gas powered stove evenly cooked it. The two boys went back to trying to build a house of cards. Yukio had managed to make it to a second tier, while rin was getting frustrated over not being able to complete even one.  
“Wait, didn’t that guy claim to be from a different universe?” Hughes asked.  
Roy nodded again. “And honestly, I believe him. After all the things I’ve seen him do, I find it hard not to,” he said, “I and three other men were attacked by a few of the monstrosities from his world, so I know I wasn’t going crazy either.”  
Hughes nodded, though still didn’t look entirely convinced. “So it’s safe to assume they’re from his world too?” he asked, “How did they get here?”  
“I don’t know, but I suspect the freak who dropped them off last night had something to do with it,” Roy said, “There was definitely something wrong with him, but I still can’t explain what…”  
“So why can Shiro no longer take care of them?” Maes asked, glancing over to see Yukio snicker lightly at another one of Rin’s failed attempts at building a house of cards, “And why send them here?”  
“Because if they stay there, they’ll be executed,” Roy said grimly. Maes looked at him in shock and horror.   
“Why?” he hissed, “Why would anyone want to kill kids like them? What could have they done wrong to deserve such a thing?”  
“It’s not what they did, it’s what their father did,” Roy explained, “Their biological father is a monster. He embodies everything evil in their world. They fear his children, whom have never known him and never will, may follow in his footsteps.”  
“That’s messed up,” Hughes stated, shaking his head and clenching his fist in anger, “A child should never be blamed for the actions of their parents.”  
“Tell that to the ones that had been hunting them down,” Roy muttered, “So here we are now. I’m stuck with these two and I have no idea of how to take care of them and still do my job.”  
“Sounds like you need a nanny,” Hughes said.  
“Yeah, and it's a little bit difficult trying to get one,” Roy said, adding seasoning to his dish, “I’m a little worried that if I do, the person I get might go to the tabloids with how I suddenly have two kids. I have no idea how to explain them yet.”  
“You might have another reason to be selective about who’s around them,” Hughes said with a sigh, “Last night, a man attempted to assassinate Basque Grand.” Roy stopped what he was doing and looked at him with surprise. “It was unsuccessful, but we’ve figured out there were multiple people behind it. Ishvalian sympathizers,” the Major stated grimly, “They were unhappy with how the people there were massacred, and they want revenge on military personnel involved.”  
Roy looked down, guilt seeping through him. Looks like he’d already failed in keeping the boys out of harm's way. “So if anyone finds out about their connection to me, they’ll be in just as much danger as I am…” Roy muttered. He closed his eyes and knit his brows together. Just another problem because of his own mistakes.  
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up! It’ll be ok,” Hughes said patting his friend on the back, “I know the perfect person to solve your nanny solution. She’s smart, and funny, and beautiful, and great with kids...Not to mention she’s the best cook in the whole world! I can assure you she’s completely trustworthy too!”  
Roy let out an amused snort. “Let me guess, is her name Gracia?” he said. Hughes nodded happily. Roy chuckled. “Alright. It’s not like I have any other choices,” he said with a smile. At least that was one problem solved.  
Suddenly they heard the collapse of cards and a loud “GRAAAAAAH!” They both turned to Rin. “Why can’t I get it right!” he yelled, “This is impossible!” At that moment, he slammed his hands down on the table. At the same time, the flame in the stove when haywire, growing five times in size and burning a bright blue for a few seconds.  
All four people in the room looked on in surprise. “The hell was that?!” Hughes breathed.  
Roy took a deep breath to shake his nerves. “The gas release system must have malfunctioned,” he lied, turning off the stove.  
“You should really get that looked into before you hurt yourself,” Hughes noted, still glancing warily at the the stove top. Roy nodded, but he felt something deep down that told him this problem wouldn't be as easy to fix as a broken stove.


	5. Riza's Suspicion

The two boys looked up at the strange brown haired woman curiously. Roy had woken them both up early to find her already inside the house. “Boys, this is Gracia, Hughes’ girlfriend,” he introduced, “Say hello to her.” She smiled and waved slightly at them.   
“Hi, I’m Yukio,” one said, sticking out his hand.  
“And I’m Rin,” the other said.  
Gracia took Yukio’s hand and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you two,” she said.  
“Hey Roy?” Rin asked, “Why is she here? I mean you said she was that weird guy from yesterday’s girlfriend and not yours.”  
Roy sighed and Gracia chuckled. “Miss Gracia is going to be looking after you while I’m not able to,” Roy explained.  
“So you’ve met my Maes, have you?” she asked.  
“Yeah,” Rin responded, “He was nice but really annoying and strange. He wouldn't stop talking about you, actually.” Yukio nodded with an awkward shrug. “You’re not gonna talk about him all the time when you’re here, are you?” Rin asked carefully.  
She smiled at them. “No, I won’t. I promise,” she said, “I know he can be a bit overwhelming in his enthusiasm with our relationship. I promise I’ll keep the gushing to a minimum.”  
The boys smiled at that.  
Roy then pulled her aside to speak with her. “Before I go, I should let you know about a few things,” he said, “First of all, they are not to enter my room. I keep weapons and other things they shouldn’t get their hands on in there.” He then pulled out his wallet. “Secondly, at some point today I need you to take them clothes shopping. I had gotten them a few essentials yesterday, but they’re going to need more than two sets of clothing,” he explained, pulling out some money from his wallet and handing it to her, “Here, this should be enough. If not, let me know and I’ll pay you back for it.” “Thirdly, I’ve already stocked up on food for them, so you shouldn’t need to go to the store. Pots and pans are in the cabinet,” he continued, “And lastly, if anything goes wrong, if you smell even the slightest hint of smoke, or if something strange happens, call me.” He handed her a number. “Got it?” he asked.  
“Yes, sir!” she said, giving him a mock salute. Roy turned to leave. “You know it’s funny that you’ve only known them for a few days,” she said, “You worry about them like they’re your own.”  
Roy looked at her over his shoulder before leaving without another word. “It’s not as much them that I worry about as her,” he thought, “They may be good boys, but after yesterday’s incident with the stove, it feels like there's a bomb that could go off any minute.”  
…  
First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye had always kept one eye open to look out for the colonel. When something was wrong she was usually the first to figure it out. That's why she was one of the only ones to notice how differently he acted after his day of being sick. He seemed less listless, though she didn’t know if that was a good thing as he seemed more distracted and tense. Every so often he would glance at the phone on his desk, as if he were expecting a call. If he went out to speak with someone or got called to a meeting, the first thing he asked when he got back as if he missed a call. Granted he didn’t seem anxious, but there was definitely something eating at his mind.   
She had considered the fact that is might have been the attempted assassination of Basque Grand, but then when was he so obsessed with whether he had gotten a phone call or not? She hadn’t heard of anything where he would be called into action if there was another attempt. She had thought about bringing it up with Fuery, Havoc, or the others but decided against it. She did ask Hughes if he noticed anything, but he just smiled and brushed her off, saying Roy was fine. This made her a little suspicious. Maybe the colonel was fine, but this still meant he was hiding something, and whatever it was, Hughes was in on it.  
….  
Throughout the rest of the week, he seemed to be less on edge, but he still continuously asked his secretary if he missed any calls when he’d leave his office for more than a few minutes. She had also noticed he’d been leaving work earlier than usual all week. She still had no idea what was going on...until the following Monday.  
She had found Breda, Havoc, Fuery, and Falman huddled in a bunch whispering about something. Whatever it was, she could see the shock on a few of their faces as Breda spoke to them in a hushed tone, glancing over his shoulder every few minutes to see if anyone was listening in. Hawkeye raised an eyebrow curiously and walked over to them. “Shouldn’t you four be working? What’s this all about?” she asked.  
The four men nearly jumped out of their skins as they turned to see her. “Oh, it’s just you Riza,” Falman breathed a sigh of relief. “Sorry, but we were just discussing something disturbing Breda found out about the colonel last week,” he continued, “It’s still so shocking. I can’t believe he’d do something like that to Hughes.”  
Riza looked surprised. Hughes didn’t look upset when she saw him walk in this morning. If anything he was still wearing that same knowing smile he had last week. “What did he do?” she asked.  
“Last Friday I found that Roy had left his watch on his desk,” Breda started, “I decided to head over to his place and return it to him...When I saw Gracia leaving his house alone!” Riza gave them a blank stare. “They were chatting up a storm just outside his house,” he explained.  
“I know I say he keeps stealing my girls, but…” Havoc said crossing his arms.  
“It would certainly explain why he’s been leaving so early this past week....” Fuery noted sadly.  
Riza crossed her arms. She wasn’t convinced. Roy could be a womanizer, but he wouldn’t do something like that to Hughes. But this did change things. Whatever they were up to, Gracia was involved too. Her eyes narrowed and her brow knit together in confusion. What the heck could they be up too? She turned and started marching towards the colonel’s office.   
“Riza? Where are you going!” Fuery asked, a little worried.  
“To get to the bottom of this,” she said, “whether he’s really trying to steal Gracia or not, I’m going to find out before the rumors start taking over,” she said.  
“And what if it’s true?” Falman asked.  
“Then he better figure out how to use his flame alchemy to deflect bullets!” she said.  
All for men swallowed. “Well, then I hope for Roy’s sake he’s innocent…” Fuery said. The other three nodded.  
…  
“Where is it?” Roy hissed as he searched the drawers of his desk. He swore he left his watch at work. He sighed as he gave up and slumped in his chair, rubbing his temples. He was just so tired, it was getting hard to focus on anything. The two boys had run him ragged during the weekend...Well, Rin had anyways. That kid was prepared to fight to the death to get his way. Roy had told Hughes of how willful and stubborn he could be, and much to Roy’s annoyance he simply responded with, “Are you sure you’re not related?”   
Still, his passion wasn’t all bad. It was amusing to watch him try to master something so quickly...only to give up later in a frustrated huff. Though he would give the kid credit, if he put his mind to it, he really could do something. After all, he managed to drag a chair bigger than him upstairs because he couldn’t turn on the ceiling fan in he and Yukio’s room. Where he got the energy or the strength to do that, Roy had no clue.  
But on top of his tiredness, he had a pretty big revelation this weekend: he had no idea how to make sure they got an education. He couldn’t send them to public school 1. Because he’d have give proof he was their legal guardian which he couldn’t do because there was no official government record of it (that was certianly going to be an issue later...) and 2. Incase Rin had another incident with his powers. Also, he didn’t know where to find a good private tutor he could trust. Maybe he could get Gracia to tutor them too…  
Suddenly his door clicked, opening up to reveal his first lieutenant Hawkeye. He smiled as an idea came to mind. Riza had been tutored as a child. Perhaps she knew someone who could help. “Hello, Riza,” he greeted, “Excellent timing. I had a favor to ask of you. But first, would you have happened to have seen my watch anywhere?”  
She jabbed her thumb at the door. “Talk to Breda,” she said.  
“He stole my watch?”  
“No, he found it after work and tried to return it to you….when he made a rather interestiong discovery,” she said, “He saw Gracia leaving your house late Friday night.”  
Roy blinked before letting out an annoyed groan and leaning back in his chair. “I swear it’s not what seems,” he said, “Hughes knew she was there. This wasn’t some secret rendezvous or whatever people like to call it.”  
“Then what were you up to,” she said, crossing her arms, “because if Hughes is involved and I’m not, then it has to be something ridiculous.”  
Roy gave a snort. “It’s very much ridiculous,” he said, “The situation I’m in is one you’d have to see to believe.” Riza raised an eyebrow.  
….  
Whatever Riza was expecting to find at Roy’s house, it certainly wasn’t two little boys. She had on her best poker face as she watched them finish up their game of checkers. “So you adopted twins,” she said. She couldn’t even believe her own words.  
“Not entirely by choice but yes,” he said, “A friend needed me to take care of them. They aren’t exactly safe where they’re from.”  
“And they’re somehow safer in the middle of one of the most militaristic countries in the world under the care of a guy who has tons of enemies and could be called to war at any time?” she responded.  
“You’d be surprised how much safer they are,” he said, causing her to give him an incredulous look. “Don’t ask. It’s really complicated,” he said.  
“I’m going to sooner or later and you better have an answer for me,” she said. Roy’s mouth twitched in amusement.  
“Yes, Ma’am,” he said rolling his eyes.  
That amusement disappeared as one of the boys spoke up. “So is this person your girlfriend?” Rin asked bluntly as he glanced up. His brother gawked at his forwardness and hissed at him not to ask that, but the pair of adults were only mildly surprised by that question. They shared a glance before looking away.   
“No,” Riza said, “We’re just friends. My name is Riza Hawkeye. I’m his first lieutenant.”  
Rin looked up at her and frowned. “That’s too bad,” he said, “He needs someone like you to boss him around more.” Roy’s eye twitched in annoyance as Riza smirked.  
“Well technically he’s my boss, but I do know how to motivate him to do what I want him to do,” she responded.   
Rin smiled at that. “Good,” he chirped. He then turned back to their game.  
Riza chuckled. “Good luck with that one,” Riza muttered to him as they walked to the kitchen to get a drink, “he seems like he’s going to be a real firecracker.”  
“You have no idea,” he said pouring two glasses of wine, “Actually I need your help with something.” She turned to him, smile fading as she grabbed a glass. “I need to find a tutor for them. One I can trust not to blab to anyone about them. With that group of assassins still on the loose, I can’t risk their safety because I hired someone with loose lips. Do you know if one of your old tutors would be willing to help me?” he asked.  
“I can see. I’ll call them, but I can’t guarantee anything,” she said.   
Roy shrugged. “I guess that’s better than nothing,” he said.  
“So what should I tell the guys?” she asked him.  
“So long as you make it clear I’m not making Gracia cheat on Maes, I don’t really care too much,” he said, “They’re trust worthy, but I’d like to make sure as few people know as possible for now.”  
“At least until this whole assassin thing clears up?” she asked. Roy nodded. “Well, then I guess you won’t mind me telling them you hired her as a maid because you’re too lazy to pick up after yourself,” she teased.  
Roy smirked. “I’d try to stop you, but we both know I can’t,” he responded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter wasn't the best but I had to get it out of the way. It was not my favorite to write. Next chapter will have more with Roy and the Okumuras.


	6. Restless night

CRACK! BOOM!  
Roy’s eyes shot open as he shot straight up in his bed. He looked around panting and holding his ungloved hand up, ready to snap. Darkness surrounded him. Where was he? His mind was still hazy from sleep, but he could swear this wasn’t a bunker. BOOM! Another explosion. The room seemed to vibrate for a moment from the noise. Were they under attack? Roy lept out of bed to jump into action…but as his feet touched soft, carpeted floor, he remembered where he was. He was at his home in central. There was no war going on. For now, things were calm. But if so what was-  
Crack! BOOM! Blue light flashed in the window. Ah. Thunder storm. Roy breathed out slowly and sat back on his bed. He rubbed his eye and let his shoulders relax as he listened to the sound of the rain and the roll of the thunder. “So much for a good night sleep…” he muttered as his heart still pumped adrenaline through his body. As another flash of lightning briefly illuminated the room. Roy yawned and stood up to walk down stairs. Maybe a glass of milk would help him fall back asleep. Once he got downstairs, he was surprised to find that all his pots and pans had been strewn across the floor. He raised an eyebrow before walking over to the cabinet on the floor where they should have been. He heard some kind of muffled noise as he opened it. His eyes widened as he saw what was hiding inside.  
“Rin?” he asked. The boy looked up, his eyes were watering as he clutched a pillow to his chest. “Rin, what are you doing in there?” he asked.  
“N-nothing,” he grumbled, looking away. Suddenly, there was a loud rumble of thunder that caused rin to flinch. As a look of realization crossed Roy’s face, Rin glared at him before burying his face in the pillow.  
Roy smirked. “Hiding from the storm, huh?” he said.  
“I am not!” Rin retorted. This caused Roy to give a snort of amusement. “Shut up!” he snapped at the man.  
“Hey now,” he responded, “Is that anyway to talk to a military officer?” Rin glared at him before pressing his face into the pillow and grumbling something. Roy smiled. “Come on now,” he said wrapping his arms around the boy and pulling him out of the cabinet, “That space is for storing pots and pans, not little kids.” He looked down at the boy in his arms to see him scowling at the floor, eyes still wet. “You know,” Roy said as he walked over to the couch and sat him down, “The storm startled me pretty good too.” He sat down next to the boy who was still not making eye contact with him. “It’s ok to be afraid of it,” he said, “Lots of kids are, but there isn’t much reason to.” “Lightning is just an electrical flow of energy,” he explained, “It’s no different than what runs through the wires in the walls, and it can be pretty useful. After all, it’s used a lot to start certain alchemic reactions. Besides, it can’t get you if you’re inside. Even if you turned on a shower it wouldn’t-”  
“I know all that!” Rin finally said, “I’m not four. I told you, I’m not afraid of the storm!” There was another loud rumble of thunder and the boy flinched slightly. “Mostly not afraid…” he rephrased, “But that’s not why I was hiding down there.”  
Roy frowned at him. “Then why were you?” he asked. Rin looked embarrassed before hiding his face in the pillow again and mumbling something. “I'm sorry, what was that?” Roy asked, with a smirk, leaning in.  
“I said, I didn’t want Yukio seeing me cryinging…” he admitted. “The truth is...I hate it here. I really do,” he explained, “Nothing is like home! Everything is so weird and old and your house is way more quiet than the monastery.” “Everything is just so different! The people, the buildings, the parks...even the cars are different,” he continued, tears starting to form in his eyes again as he became more frustrated, “And I just miss it so much! I wanna go back home. I wanna be with dad again. I just want things to go back to the way they were…And this storm is just a reminder because this time I can’t go running to Dad to make me feel better!”  
Rin broke out into tears. Roy didn’t know what to do. He simply pulled the boy onto his lap and held him for a while. Roy had expected something like this to happen. Over the past three weeks he had spent with the boys, he had expected one if not both of them to break down from homesickness, but it didn’t make him any more prepared to deal with it. He rubbed his back until he calmed down a little. “I understand how you feel,” he said, “Maybe not exactly, but I get the pain.” He said as Rin sniffled. “You’ve gone through a big change that you can’t undo and didn’t ask for,” he elaborated, “You feel angry and slighted as you feel like things can’t ever be normal again, and in some ways you’re right. There are things that you lost that you’ll never get back.”   
“But in some ways, you’re wrong,” he continued. Rin looked up at him in surprise. “Things can become normal, but it takes the courage to move forward and let go of the past,” he said, “Dwelling on what happened and what could have been doesn’t help things get better. It’s hard, but sometimes you just have to take what life gives you, get up, and walk.” If there was anything he’d learned over the past year, it was that.  
Rin stopped sniffling. “That sounds like something Dad would say,” he noted.  
Roy smiled. “Yeah it does,” he said, remembering the old priest.   
“The monastery used to smell like incense because he would burn it to cover up the smell of cigarettes when he was first trying to quit,” Rin said, “This place just smells like smoke.”  
“Hmmm,” he said, “I’ll see if I can find some and maybe we can burn some for a special occasion. Would that help you get used to this place?” Rin shrugged but smiled slightly.  
The two sat there for a few more minutes before they heard someone shout from upstairs.  
“Wha? Mr. Mustang? Mr. Mustang!”   
Roy’s eyes widened. It was Yukio. Roy gripped Rin before running upstairs as fast as he could. “Yukio what’s wrong?” he asked as he opened the door to his own room. Yukio had been staring at the empty bed with worry, but looked relieved as he turned to see Roy standing in the door.  
“Oh thank goodness,” the boy said, “I’m sorry Sir. The storm woke me up and I noticed Rin was gone. I thought he might have crawled into bed with you cause our dad used to let us do that but…”  
“Well don’t worry,” he said, “I’m fine, and so is your brother. Now let’s get you both to bed.” Roy turned to head back to the boy’s room when Yukio spoke up.   
“Um...Sir?” he asked. Roy looked over his shoulder and nodded at him. “I hope you don’t mind, but I was wondering if…,” he trailed off, “If I could sleep with you for the night?”  
Roy looked at him blankly. He hadn’t expected that. He really didn't think that boy was attached to him enough to be ok with that. Roy glanced inside his room. It was a king sized bed, so tthere would be more than enough room.  
“Its ok if you say no, I was just…” he said.  
“No it’s fine,” Roy said, “Though I should still see if your brother wants to go back to your room.” Roy nudged the half asleep seven year old in his arms. “Where do you want to be? With me and Yukio or your own room?” he asked.  
Rin blinked slowly. “With Yukio,” he yawned.  
Roy nodded and brought him over the bed and set him down on one side, pulling a blanket over him. Roy laid down on the other side, and much to Roy’s surprise, Yukio followed him, causing the colonel to be sandwiched between the boys. Roy frowned. He had hoped they would sleep on their own side of the bed. Roy sighed and let it go as he pulled a blanket over himself, closing his eyes. As the rumbles of thunder got softer, he slowly drifted off to sleep.


	7. Days go by

6 months later….  
The sky was pitch black as the phases of the moon restarted. However, the city lights shone brightly. It seemed almost calm as the streets stood empty...that is except for one man. “damn it damn it damn it!” Roy muttered as ran home as fast as he could. He hoped he wasn’t too late. He had been held up at work for long after he planned to leave. He turned the corner and saw his home a block away. He sped down the street, dust kicking up behind him. He grabbed the post of the house to stop himself. He climbed up the stairs and swung the door open. Gracia was standing in the living room in front of him, watching him catch his breath with a pitying look.  
“The boys…” he gasped looking around the room, “Where…are…”  
“I’m sorry, but you were too late,” she apologized as she went and placed a hand on his shoulder, “It’s past ten. I had to get them to bed already.” Roy groaned and rested his head against the post, shutting his eyes tightly. He had promised he’d be home in time to help them study for their history exam tomorrow. Rin especially needed it as he couldn’t seem to study on his own. He had to make it into a game to be able to focus. Not only that, but he hated Roy’s guts the last time he had come home after they went to bed. He held a grudge for half a week, not speaking to him during that time. Yukio had forgiven him long before then, but he had still been pretty upset by it.  
“It’s ok,” she said, patting him on the back, “I’m sure they’ll understand. You’ve been really busy lately, after all.”  
“Yeah right. Rin is not the understanding type,” he said, “But if he knew what my work has been like, he might at least know I’m not doing it on purpose.” A recent skirmish on the border of Creta had made things busy for them. Luckily, he hadn’t been sent out there, but he did have to approve the transfer of a few of his subordinates...which made for a lot of paperwork. Roy sighed. “Thank you for your help, Gracia,” he said standing up and pulling a few bills out of his wallet and handing it to her, “Be careful heading home.” She nodded before heading out, waving at him as she left.  
Roy waved back before closing the doors and heading up stairs. He could feel the weight of his tiredness increasing with each step. He didn’t even feel like he had enough energy to take a shower. He climbed up the stairs and trudged to his room. Just as felt like he felt like he could collapse in the hallway to his room when suddenly, pain skyrocketed up his leg from his foot. He hissed in pain as clutched his injured foot while balancing on the other. He leaned against the wall and looked down to see what had assaulted the sole of his foot, only to find himself scowling at a tiny metal soldier figurine. He looked down the hall to see an entire battlefield of the metal men strewn about. Roy facepalmed, suddenly regretting buying them those damn things. He was going to have to have a talk with them about picking up their toys tomorrow...if he remembered and rin didn’t refuse to talk to him.   
He sighed and began carefully sidestepping around them to get to his room at the end of the hall. He flopped on his bed, not even bothering to change out of his uniform. He rolled over to stare at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Sometimes Roy wondered how he had managed to survive dealing with all this these past few months.  
…  
A few months earlier...  
“I’m giving you two one last warning…” Roy growled, “get your sorry rears and gear and get to bed!” He lunged for them. Rin grabbed his brother’s arm and yanked him out of the way.  
“NEVER!” he cried, laughing, “You’ll never take us alive!” They climbed over the couch and roy charged after them.  
“You’re going to eat those words!” he snapped as he chased them down the stairs to the basement. Roy was tired of this little game. He needed his sleep if he was going to be in any sort of a good mood for his meeting the next morning, and these two weren’t helping.  
“Brother maybe we should just let him take us alive,” Yukio reasoned as his brother dragged him along.  
“Why would you say that?” Rin asked.  
Yukio looked over his shoulder to see a very angry Roy, “Because I don’t know whether he’d be willing to settle for taking us dead or not!” he said. The three ran around in circles for a few moments. Suddenly, Rin pulled his brother into the laundry room and locked the door behind them. Roy slammed into it trying to open it. He glared at the door as he could hear someone giggling from behind it.  
Suddenly a smirk came to his face. “You boys may think you have the upper hand, but I’m the one with the house keys!” he said, pulling out a ring of keys. Roy quickly unlocked the door and swung it open...only to be met with a face-full of towel.  
“Attack!” Rin shouted. Both boys began throwing various articles of clothing at him before he stumbled out of the room and fell on his back. Roy pulled the clothing off of himself and sat up to see Rin and Yukio standing in front of him. His eyes widened as he realised they had gotten ahold of the spare pillows. Yukio gave him an apologetic look while Rin had an evil smirk. “Oh no…” Roy thought. Before he had a chance of moving, he was being bombarded with pillows. He tried to escape, but to no avail. He had only one option left. Desperate times call for desperate measures.   
He suddenly lunged for Rin mid swing and grabbed him by the waist. He held onto him with one arm and grabbed the pillow with the other. “No!” The boy cried, “Yukio, help! I’ve been captured by the enemy!”   
Roy laughed triumphantly as he stood up. “Struggling will get you nowhere, prisoner!” he announced. He then turned to Yukio, smirking. “Surrender! I’ve taken your accomplice hostage!” he said. didn’t know why, but these boy’s energy was infectious. A minute ago he had been furious, but now he was playing along.  
“Run, Yukio!” Rin pleaded dramatically, still trying to free himself, “Save yourself!”   
Yukio threw his pillow at Roy and tried to escape, but the colonel was too quick for him and he grabbed him by the waist, trapping him. Yukio shrieked in surprise and Roy snickered. “That’s what you get for trying to run from Colonel Roy Mustang!” he cried triumphantly.  
“That was awesome!” Rin cheered, “Can we do that again?”  
Now Roy’s smile faded. “No way,” he said, “You two lost. You’re getting to bed now.”  
“Awwww...come on!” he cried, “five more minutes?”  
“You hit me with pillows! Do you really think you deserve five more minutes?” Roy said giving him an odd look as he carried them upstairs.  
“He does have a point...we might have gone too far with the pillow war…” Yukio said.  
Rin pouted the rest of the way to their room. Once he had gotten them in bed and closed the door behind him, Roy slumped to the floor outside, utterly exhausted.  
…  
It was barely past seven and Roy was already exhausted. Today had been the state alchemist assessment for him and it had been grueling to say the least. Because he had been unable to do proper research, his was a test of physical abilities and mastery as they had set up what had practically been a gauntlet to examine his abilities. While he had passed with flying colors, such strenuous activity left him completely worn out.  
“And now I’m going to have to deal with two hyperactive boys for the next few hours…” he thought. Usually he didn’t mind, but right now he didn’t know how he was going to deal with that much energy let alone be able to…  
Roy’s eyes widened. “Shit!” he cursed, slapping his hand to his forehead. He still had to cook dinner. Roy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Hopefully there will be something simple he could do. As he walked up the steps to his house and opened the door, he was expecting to find the two boys running around and Gracia making sure they hadn’t done anything reckless. This is not what he found.  
As soon as he opened the door, he had been tackled by two small figures shouting “Roy!” simultaneously. Once he got over his initial surprise, he looked down to find the twins smiling up at them. He gave them a weary smile as they let go of his legs.  
“Hello you two,” he said, “What have you been up to today?” he asked.   
“Actually, that’s what we wanted to show you!” Yukio said.  
“Yeah!” Rin said, grabbing Mustang’s hand and tugging him along.  
Roy staggered forward in surprise at the child’s strength. “Hold on!” he said, “Let me just settle-”  
“No!” Rin said as he dragged him towards the kitchen, “you need to see this now!”  
Roy sighed, slightly worried about what these boys might have done and why he had yet to see Gracia. However, his tune changed as he saw what was spread across the kitchen counter: A warm yet strange looking soup with noodles and hearty chunks of tuna floating in it, a colorful looking fruit salad, some kind of unidentifiable but delicious smelling stir fry, and a small cake with white frosting. “Woah…” he whispered, before turning to the two of them who were smiling brightly, “Did you two help Gracia make all this?”  
“Actually they did most of the work,” Gracia said from her place at the counter, “I just made sure they didn’t burn themselves or set anything on fire. Rin had half the recipes memorized, and I’ve got to say, they turned out wonderfully.”  
Roy rounded on her, shock still clear in his eyes. “You’re kidding me!” he said.  
“No way!” Rin announced, “Now go ahead and taste it!”  
“Yeah, we made this for you,” Yukio said, “Gracia said that Hughes said you had some kind of rigorous state exam today and we wanted to make you feel better after work. Gracia suggested we cook dinner together so you wouldn't have to and Rin and I got a little carried away. I just made the fruit salad and decorated the cake though. Rin did all the rest.” Rin looked extremely proud of himself.  
Roy looked baffled as he walked over to the spread before him. He took out a spoon and took a sip of the soup...to which he promptly dropped the spoon afterwards. Roy was utterly stunned. This tasted better than some of the stuff he’d had from a professional chef!  
“So? What do you think?” Rin asked. Roy turned to the boy who was looking at him expectantly.  
“What do I think?” Roy repeated. He then smiled and kneeled down to eye level. “I think someone is going to have to help me with dinner in the future. That soup is amazing!” he said. Roy’s smile widened as he watched the boy’s eyes light up.  
…  
Roy found himself standing on a battlefield filled with burning flames. All around him death and destruction lied amid the burning flames. Screams and firearms filled the air and he could smell the scent of burning flesh. Then he heard a familiar voice. “Roy! Help me, Roy please!” it called.  
His eyes widened.  
“Riza!” he gasped. Roy ran through the flames, searching for any sign of life. “Riza!” he called into the blaze. The blaze he started. He looked everywhere, but he couldn’t find a single living human.  
Suddenly, he heard the cocking of a gun. Roy slowly turned to see an Ishvalan soldier, ready to shoot. The man stared him dead in the eyes, with cold hatred filling them. “You monster!” the man hissed. His finger moved to the trigger  
Roy brought his hand up to defend himself. But as he snapped his finger, the soldier changed to Riza Hawkeye, and Rin and Yukio were standing at her feet, eyes wide with fear. “NO!” Roy shouted as they were engulfed in flames. Roy fell to his knees. There was nothing left but ash.  
“You did this…” someone hissed.  
Roy slowly turned his head to see hundreds of Ishvalans all looking upon him with anger and fear. Men and women. Elders and children. All slowly burning in the surrounding pire. A pair of Amestrian doctors stood out from the rest. “You did this!” they called out, “Monster…Demon! You did this!” Roy covered his ears as he tried to block out their accusations. Suddenly two more voices joined the chorus, but were calling out something entirely different.  
“ROY!”  
Roy’s eyes shot open as he sat up in bed. He panted for a moment, a cold sweat running down his face. He was in his room. It was dark and cold. His hands clutched the sheets as he forced himself to calm down.  
“Roy?” a small voice asked quietly. He sharply turned to the source of the noise to see Rin and Yukio looking at him with a mix of fear and worry. He he was silent for a moment and blinked.  
“Wh-what are you two doing here?” he asked.  
“We heard you screaming,” Yukio said.  
“Yeah. It sounded like you were in a lot of pain, so we came to make sure you were ok,” Rin said. “Are you ok?” he asked.  
Roy stared at them for a few moments still panting slightly. Their worried expressions reminded him of their fear filled eyes from his dream. Then, suddenly, he grabbed them and pulled them both into a hug, surprising them.   
“What the-?!” Rin cried and Yukio squeaked. “Hey!” Rin snapped as he squirmed for a second in Roy’s tight grip. Then he felt how franticly Roy’s heart was beating and how he was shaking slightly and he relaxed in his grip. The two boys wrapped their arms around him as his shoulders violently shook in a silent sob. The three sat there for a long while in silence before eventually falling asleep.  
…  
Present...  
Roy smiled as he opened his eyes again. He rolled over onto his side and pulled a blanket over himself. Other times, he wondered how he had survived without them at all.


	8. Don't play with fire

Roy scratched his head as he examined the broken furnace. This is the third time it stopped working since he had it repaired. A few months ago, Gracia had called him during work about hearing an explosion and finding smoke coming from the furnace...a furnace that was only a few years old and had been routinely maintained. Roy narrowed his eyes. He had a good idea of how the explosion came about, but he didn't want to admit it. Rather he didn’t want to accept it, because he didn’t know how to solve the issue.  
“Hey roy?” Rin called. Speaking of which… Roy turned to see the little boy run up to him.  
Roy knelt down to eye level with him. “What have you got there?” he asked as Rin held his hands up to show him a silver pocket watch.  
“I found this on the coffee table,” he said, “It’s yours right? Why’s the amestrian flag symbol on the front? Why do you always have it with you?”  
“Because it’s my state alchemist license,” Roy said as he took the watch from Rin and held it out, “Every state alchemist has a silver pocket watch as a form of identification. It also amplifies my alchemic capabilities.”  
Rin looked confused. “But I thought you were a colonel,” he said.  
“I am a colonel, but I am also a state alchemist,” he explained, “It's like being a specialist with in the military. Some soldiers are snipers, others specialize in reconnaissance and code breaking. My specialization is with alchemy, more specifically with flame alchemy.”  
Rin nodded before scrunching his brow in confusion. “What is alchemy, anyways? You keep talking about it and have a few books with it on the label but you never told us what it is,” he asked.  
Roy looked surprised. How could they not know about alchemy?! Then he had to remind himself that they were from another plain of existence that was a lot different from his own. It was very possible that because demons and supernatural powers exist there, alchemy doesn’t. That would certainly explain why Shiro had called him a devil when he had first seen his flame alchemy….  
“Alchemy is a science that exists in this world. It stands on the principle or deconstructing and reconstructing energy and matter into a new form,” he explained, “There are many different disciplines within it like how physicists or biologist specialize in a particular field of study. My field is based in the creation of controlled blasts of fire.”  
“Really? Thats awesome! Can I see it? Please?” Rin said eyes lighting up with excitement. Roy was tempted to say no, considering they were inside, but looking down to see the admiration and enthusiasm in his gaze, made it near impossible to say no. Roy thought for a moment. Maybe something small….  
An idea came to mind and he got up to walk over to a cabinet. He got out a scented candle he’d been planning on throwing away and set it on the table. “Now watch closely,” he said, pulling on one of his ignition gloves. He focused on the candle and snapping his fingers. Sparks flew out before a small plume erupted from the wick, before settling.  
Rin was in awe. “Woah! Coool!” he gushed, “How did you do that?”  
Roy grinned smugly. “It’s because of these gloves, you see,” he said, showing him his gloved hand, “All alchemy requires a circle array like this, but different ones are used for different things. This array allows me to focus and condense the oxygen in the air around a target, and the glove is made of a specific material that produces a spark when I snap my fingers, allowing me to project fire onto a target.”  
“Thats amazing!” Rin’s eyes shined with interest. “Can I learn to do alchemy like that?” he asked.  
Roy thought for a second. He supposed it would be alright for him and his brother to dabble in some basic alchemy. It could go along with their chemistry coursework. “I suppose so,” he said using the boy to whoop with delight, “I could probably find you some books on basic arrays. Then later you can decide on a discipline for yourself,” he said stroking his his chin.  
“I already know what I want!” Rin exclaimed, causing Roy to look at him in surprise, “I want to do that fire alchemy stuff like you!”  
“No!” Roy stated firmly, narrowing his eyes at the boy, “Flame alchemy is too dangerous. You’ll hurt yourself and others or worse!”  
Rin looked upset and hurt at that. “I won’t!” he said, “I’ll be really careful! I promise! Please will you teach me?”  
“I said no, Rin!” he said, “You don’t have enough self discipline to even think about trying.”  
“But-”  
“My decision is final,” Roy said getting up and walking away. Rin glared at him as he did so. He could do it! He knew he could! He’d just have to figure out a way how.  
…..  
Roy sighed as he held the torn glove in his hand. The seam of the ignition glove had come undone up the side. He furrowed his brow. He didn’t know how to fix it with alchemy, as he didn't know what entierly it was made of. Thank goodness he had spares. He’d have to get it tailored later, or just get rid of it. He set it down on the counter. He’d have to call his taylor later. For now he more important things to do, namely, finding an alchemy teacher for rin and yukio.  
He considered the idea of them getting a teacher a while ago. They both seemed interested in the subject, even if rin didn’t understand the consequences. He found Yukio flipping through one of his books of arrays a while ago. It would help them learn about life too. Plus, in some ways it could be both a way of expressing themselves and a means of self defense if they were taught properly.  
“Roy?” he heard Yukio call, “I need your help with my chemistry.”  
“Coming,” he called as he headed upstairs. A few moments passed in silence before Rin peeked around the corner. He checked to make sure the coast was clear before he ran over to the counter and pulled out a sheet of paper. He grabbed a chair and climbed up to the counter. He examined the glove on the counter before pulling out a pen and paper. He copied down the design on the back of the golve carefully before smiling and hoping down. If Roy wasn’t going to teach him because he thought he wasn’t ready, then he’d just have to prove that he was. He searched the cabinets until he found a lighter. He then ran off to find a place to practice.  
…  
Roy sat in his room at his desk as he made call after call trying to connect to a good alchemist teacher. He’d been acting under the cover that he was looking for a teacher for the son of the friend in the military. He’d called number after number, but no luck. They were all either taken, or weren’t that great. He wasn’t about to ask another state alchemist though because many of the ones he knew were either specialists or he didn’t think would make good teachers. Plus, again, he still didn’t know how he would explain these boys when there was no official documentation of their adoption under file.  
Roy sighed and looked over to Yukio who was lying stomach down on his bed, happily kicking his feet as he studied. “How are you doing over there?” Roy asked. Yukio looked up and smiled, giving him a thumbs up. Roy sighed and smiled. “At least one of us is getting something figured out…” he sighed. Roy glanced over to the newspaper to the left of him. His brow furrowed as he noticed on the cover there was a picture of a woman performing alchemy. He pulled the article over to him and began reading.  
“Izumi Curtis, huh?” Roy said stroking his chin. He then went to pick up the phone.  
…  
Rin set the paper and matches out before him. Next to it he set down a glass bowl with an old newspaper inside. He then placed on hand on the transposed circle as he held the lighter in the other. He hoped he was doing this right. He focused his eyes on the paper in the bowl, staring at it as hard as he could. He then flicked open the lighter a snapped the flint and steel together.  
Sparks flew and Rin’s eyes widened as the paper erupted into blue flames. A wide smile crossed his face and his eyes sparkled. “I did it...I really did it!” he whispered in delight.  
…  
The line rang for a few moments before someone picked up. “Hello,” a deep, monitone voice answered, “This is the Happy Meats butcher shop. What can I do for you?”  
“Hello, yes,” Roy said, “May I please speak to Izumi Curtis?”  
“...Who is this?” the voice asked, “Why do you want to speak to my wife?”  
“My name is Roy Mustang,” he explained, “I was wondering if I could possibly speak to her about if she was willing to take on an apprentice in alchemy.”  
“...Alright,” the man said, still in monotone, “One moment.”  
Roy waited a few second before someone got on the line. “Hello?” a higher female voice said, “Who is this. What do you want?”  
Roy smiled. “Good afternoon ma’am,” he said, “My name is Roy Mustang and I-”  
“Wait a minute...as in Colonel Roy Mustang?” the woman asked.  
“Why yes,” he said, “I was wondering if you-”  
“Not interested,” she stated simply.  
Roy frowned. “You didn’t even hear what I was going to-” he started but was once again cut off.  
“I don’t need to hear what you were going to say!” she snapped at him, causing Roy to flinch, “I’m not doing any kind of favors for military dogs like you!!!” With that she hung up.  
Roy frowned at the phone. “Well I guess I wouldn't want her around the boys anyways if that's how she treats authority figures. I can’t imagine how she’d be when the roles are reversed,” he thought. He leaned back in his chair. There has to be something he could do… He closed his eyes and took a deep breath…and smelled smoke on the air.  
Roy shot up, eyes wide. A fire? How?! Then a thought struck him. The house was too quiet. “Yukio?” he asked, “do you know where your brother is?”  
Yukio looked up, eyes suddenly wide with worry. He shook his head no. Roy’s heart nearly stopped. “Shit!” He breathed, standing up. He grabbed yukio by the wrist and pulled him off the bed. The two ran out into the hall and saw smoke coming from Rin and Yukio’s room.  
“Yukio,” Roy commanded, “I need you to run down stairs and get a pot of water, now!”  
“O-ok!” the scared little boy squeaked before running down the stairs.  
Roy then burst into the twin’s room. His eyes widened as he saw the pillar of blue fire in front of where Rin was sitting. The fire looked ready to overturn the bowl and creep onto the carpet. Images of burning Ishvalian children flashed through Roy’s mind. “RIN!” he cried, moving to pull the boy to safety. Rin turned to look at Roy in surprise.  
“Wait, Roy-” He didn’t have a chance to speak as he was dragged away from the flames, and out into the hall. Just then, Yukio came running upstairs with a pot of water. Roy grabbed it from him and doused the flames. His heart still raced as he stared at the smouldering remains.  
Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s ok, you two…” he said, relaxing his shoulders, “You’re safe now. You’re all-” It was then that he noticed a strange peice of paper on the floor. It had some sort of symbol on it. His eyes widened as he reailzed it was the same symbol as what was on the back of his gloves!  
Roy’s fists began to shake as Rin tried to creep away. “RIN….” Roy growled, causing a shiver to run down the boy's spine. Before he could move another muscle, Roy grabbed him roughly by the arm and pulled him into the room. He looked upon the man in terror as pure fury had engraved itself upon Roy’s face as he glowered down at him.  
He shoved the sopping piece of parchment in Rin’s face. “What the hell is THIS?” he demanded quietly.  
Rin swallowed. “I-I don’t kn-” he began but was cut off as Roy squeezed his arm.  
“DON’T LIE TO ME!” he raged. Yukio flinched in the background.  
“Ok! Its the transmutation circle from your gloves!” Rin admitted, squeezing his eyes shut, “I-I copied it from the one you left on the counter!”  
“Why?!” Roy demanded shaking his arm, “Why the hell would you pull a stunt like this?! I told you it was too dangerous!”  
“I-I”  
“WELL?!”  
“Stop Roy! You’re hurting his arm!” Yukio suddenly piped up. Roy’s eyes widened as he realized what he was doing. He suddenly dropped Rin’s arm as if it had burned him.  
He panted as he stared down at the boy who was practically shaking. It looked like he was about to cry. Part of Roy felt bad, but a larger part was still mad. What the hell had been going through the boy’s head?!  
“I-I just wanted to prove I could do it…” Rin mumbled, “I wanted to see if I could make fire like you…”  
“But I told you not too!” Roy argurd. “What is wrong with you?! Everytime I tell you to do something, you ignore me, even if it’s for you’re own good,” he snapped, “Did you even stop to think about what could have happened?! You could have hurt yourself! You could have gotten Yukio hurt! Heck, you could have burned this whole place down and killed us all!”  
“But I had it under control!” Rin shouted, starting to cry.  
“No you didn’t!” Roy retorted, “Another five seconds and the floor would have caught on fire! And then where would you be? Fire isn’t a toy damn it! You could have really hurt yourself!”  
“I know but-”  
“No you don’t!” Roy cut him off, “If you did you wouldn’t have done it! And you obviously still don’t know, otherwise you wouldn’t be trying to argue with me!” “And because of that, I have no choice but to punish you,” Roy said with a sigh. Rin’s eyes widened in fear. “You will stay in this room for the rest of the evening and think about what you’ve done,” he stated.  
“But-”  
“No buts!” Roy said tearing up the piece of paper with the transmutation circle on it. he then began to walk towards the door. Yukio looked like he would protest on his brother’s behalf, but stopped himself.  
“Roy, I-”  
“I don’t want to hear any noise from up here during that time. This is not playtime. You can either study or contemplate. Nothing else,” he said not looking at Rin.  
“I’m sorry!” Rin cried, tears streaming down his face.  
Roy stopped at the door frame. The was a pause as Rin continued to sniffle. “I’ll be back up with dinner in a few hours. Then we’ll see if you can leave your room or not,” Roy said. He then closed the door behind him.  
It made his heart ache to say those things to him. But he had to learn somehow. He had been so scared when he had seen Rin in front of those blue flames. He never wanted to see the boy get that close to getting hurt like that again.  
…  
A few hours later, Roy was feeling even more terrible. The image of Rin’s terrified face wouldn’t get out of his mind. He glanced up the stairs where the door to the twins room was. It had be silent for a while. Roy looked down in guilt. It was his fault really, he should have been keeping better track of him and not have left that glove out. What was he thinking?! Leaving that out was like leaving out a loaded gun!  
And thinking back on it...the boy did have some promise. Most kids his age with his lack of understanding of alchemy wouldn’t have been able to activate the circle in the first place! And he had managed to use the technique to control his own flame powers...Maybe...just maybe him learning flame alchemy someday would be a good thing.  
Roy glanced up again at the door to Rin and Yukio’s room. “You know he’s been really well behaved these past few hours,” Roy noted, grabbing Yukio’s attention from his coloring book, “Maybe we should let him out early…do you think he’s learned his lesson?”  
Yukio blinked in surprise before smiling at him and nodding. Roy smiled back as he got up. “Come on,” he said, “Let’s let Rin know his punishment is over.”  
Both marched upstairs to the boys’ room. When they opened the door, they expected to find the boy still moping on his bed. However, shock and fear covered their faces when they saw that the window was open with a sheet rope hanging out of them and that Rin was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bum bum buuum! Sorry to leave you guys on a cliffhanger for now, but thank you for all the support! Hope you liked the chapter!


	9. Fuel the flames

Roy and Yukio stared at the empty room. Both of them were in shock. They didn't know how to respond. "He...just ran off..." Roy muttered. His fists began to shake and his mouth became a sharp line. That idiot! What the hell had gotten into him! Did he really think he could just run away from his problems?! This wasn't some fairytale, it was a city! There were criminals and crooks on the street. He could get hurt! He could get mugged or abducted or....killed. Roy's rage dispersed as cold fear gripped his heart. Rin could already be dead and it would have been his fault for leaving him alone for too long.  
"Roy! Roy!" Yukio shouted tugging on the man's hand. Roy snapped out of his frozen state to look down at the boy's scared face. "Roy, what are we going to do?! We don't even know how long he's been gone!" Yukio cried, "He could be anywhere!"  
Roy's gaze steeled as he went downstairs. He walked straight to the phone and started dialing. "Roy, what are you doing?" Yukio asked, as he followed him down the stairs in confusion.  
"First I'm calling Hawkeye," he explained, "She can help us look for him. Then I'm calling Hughes to see if he can search around his building, incase Rin decided to go to him. Finally, I'm calling Gracia to see if she can look after you while I'm gone."  
"No!" Yukio shouted. Roy stopped dialing and turned to him in surprise. Yukio looked like he was shaking but stood firm, a look of determination on his face. "Don't call Gracia! I want to come with you!" he explained.  
"Yukio, I'm not going to let you wander the streets looking for him!" Roy snapped, "I don't want to lose you too!"  
"I don't care! He's my brother!" the small boy snapped. Both were shocked by his outburst. Yukio took a deep breath before he continued. "I care and worry about him just as much as you, and I'm not just going to sit here and wait while my brother could be in serious trouble!" he explained, "And I won't wander the streets. I'll be with you!"  
Roy stared at him incredulously for a moment. Roy sighed before smiling. "Alright...but if you leave my side for even a second, I'm taking you straight home, got it?" Yukio straightened his shoulders and nodded, a determined look on his face.  
....  
Rin sniffled as he carried his backpack full of clothing down the street. He knew there was no going back. He messed up too badly. He had never seen Roy that mad at him. Heck, he'd never seen Shiro that mad, and Rin had messed up a lot when he lived with him!  
He just wanted to prove that he could handle fire alchemy. But Roy was right. He had almost burnt himself to a crisp! If Roy hadn't been home, who knows what would have happened! He'd been so reckless and stupid. Roy must hate him...he certainly sounded like it anyways.  
"I don't really blame him," Rin thought and wiped his nose, "With all the stupid stunts I've pulled, I'd hate me too. He didn't even chose us in the first place like Shiro did. He was forced to take us in..." His lip quivered and he shut his eyes tightly, causing him to bump into some one and topple over. He pulled himself up and looked around him. People in the street had stopped to give him odd looks. Realistically, it was because there was a crying child wandering the streets alone, but to Rin it seemed like they thought something was wrong with him.  
"S-stop it!" he snapped defensively, getting up. His eyes were still watery as he backed away from them. Some of them looked surprised by his aggression. Their reaction reminded Rin of how his teachers and other adults reacted when he acted out. He remembered them calling him a demon child all too well. They thought he hadn't heard the comments when they spoke to Shiro, but he had.  
At least he had Shiro to defend him back then. Now he had no one and these people would not stop staring. "Stop looking at me like that!" he cried, backing up some more. They didn't. "I said STOP!" he shouted. He then ran into the alleyway behind him. He ran around a corner into an alcove. Tears streamed down his face and he collapsed next to a box, crying. "I am not a demon child! I'm not!" he muttered the familiar mantra to himself. But then his eyes widened as he realized they had been right. He remembered what Shiro had said. All along he had been the spawn of Satan. Those blue flames had been proof. Rin curled in on himself. He really was a monster! He hurt everyone around him. He was the reason why Shiro couldn't take care of them anymore, and now he could have burned Roy's house to the ground...  
Rin buried his head in his arms and sobbed....that was until he heard rustling coming from farther down the alley. Rin looked up to see two beady eyes and a large figure looming in the darkness.  
"Who's there?!" Rin called.  
The large figure stepped out from around the corner. He was fat and bald. He had a large nose and a creepy smile. "Hello little human," he said.  
"Who are you?!" Rin demanded.  
"Who me?" he said, "I'm just hungry. Who are you? You look lost."  
"My name is Rin," he said carefully, "And I'm not lost. I'm just...." Rin trailed off.  
"Alone?" the man offered. Rin gasped and looked away. "So you are alone!" he said.  
"Sh-shut up!" Rin said.  
"No, thats a good thing!" he said, "If you're all alone, that means father won't mind if I have you for dinner!"  
Rin blinked. He still didn't trust this man, no matter how friendly he spoke. There was something off about him...almost inhuman... "You'd let me come an eat with you? Why?" he asked carefully, "What are you having?"  
"You!" the man cried gleefully. Rin's eyes widened in horror and he began backing away.  
"St-Stay away!" he cried as he backed up against the wall of the alcove.  
"Don't run away," the fat man said, "I only want to eat you!"  
"No! Get away from me!" Rin cried as he trembled in fear. The man was now looming over him. He could see the saliva dripping from his mouth. He was so close he could see the strange oroborus tatoo on his tongue. Rin tried to punch him but the freak grabbed his hand and forced him down. Rin closed his eye, crying out for help. Suddenly the man let go of him and hissed in pain. The hand he had been holding him with had caught fire. It burned a brilliant bright blue. As the man whimpered Rin used this opportunity to escape.  
However, the man was right behind him. Rin closed his eyes and ran for his life. This caused him to trip and fall...right into someone. Or should he say two people. Rin looked up with shock to see Roy and Yukio. Rin had never been more happy to see them in all his life. "Rin!" Yukio cried hugging his twin. Roy glanced down at the boys before glaring down the alley with a look of pure fury unlike any Rin had seen before.  
The man that had been chasing Rin stopped and cocked his head to the side. "Who are you?" he asked curiously.  
"My name is Roy Mustang," he stated, "And I'm about to make you wish you were never born!" He snapped his fingers, causing an explosion that sent the fat man flying back. This only served to make him angrier, as he attempted to charge at Roy. Roy snapped his fingers again and again, sending the man further back with each explosion.  
"Stop that!" the freak cried, "I only want to eat him."  
Though it seemed impossible, Roy became even more angry. Flames of Rage filled his eyes as he snapped his fingers and set the man's clothing alight. The man screamed and rolled around, trying to put it out. "What the hell did you just say, you bastard?!" he growled lowly. Even Rin and Yukio looked afraid of the flame alchemist.  
"I-I," the man stuttered.  
"DON'T YOU DARE LAY A FINGER ON THEM!" he bellowed. He then snapped his finger and set the man's arm on fire. Rin and Yukio hid behind Roy. The man screamed as it disintegrated and into ash. Sparks appeared to fly out of it the open wound, and the man decided he'd had enough. He ran down to the opposite end of the alleyway  
"GET BACK HERE!" Roy shouted, giving chase. He was about to snap his fingers again as he entered the shadows, ready to burn the man alive...when something in the shadows caught his foot. Roy fell face first into the concrete and the man escaped. He got up, trying to figure out what might have tripped him, but couldn't find anything. His brow furrowed in confusion, but was quickly distracted from that fact as the too boys came running up to him.  
Rin tackled him in the stomach, and Yukio hugged him from the side. Roy held them both close, glad they were safe, particularly Rin. "There, there," he said, "Everything is going to be fine. You're safe now." While Yukio let go, Rin refused to. He continued to sob into Roy's shirt.  
"I'm sorry!" he sobbed, "I'm so sorry!" He cried.  
Roy sighed and rubbed his back. "It's ok. I'm not mad," he said, "I was scared, but not mad."  
Rin looked up at him in confusion. "B-but I thought you hated me!" he said, "I thought you thought I was a monster after what I did."  
Roy frowned. "When did I ever say such things?" he asked.  
"You didn't but..." Rin said between sniffles, "You were just so angry!" He devolved into sobs again.  
Roy felt a pang of pain for the boy. "Rin," he said, tipping the boy's head up, "Listen. I don't think you are a monster. You're just a boy that makes mistakes sometimes. I was a boy like that too long ago." "And I don't hate you. I could never hate you," he said, "I love you, both you and your brother." He glanced over to Yukio. "And I will do whatever it takes to protect you two," he promised, looking between them. Both boys looked at him in wonder before going back to hugging him.  
Roy smiled at them. Then Rin said something that caught him off guard. "I love you too...Dad," he whispered into his chest.  
Roy's eyes widened and his breath hitched in his throat. He then smiled at them again before scooping rin up as he stood and taking Yukio's hand in his own. "Come on you two. Lets get you home..." he said. Both boys smiled at him as they walked back to their house as the sun set.  
...  
Rin should have realized he still would have been punished when he got home. He did nearly get himself killed again. This time it was no radio for a whole week. Rin pouted. He had really come to enjoy the evening mystery shows. They were almost as good as the cartoons he watched back home. He pouted as he thought about it. He was worrying about all the adventures he was missing. It had been three days since his punishment began. Thankfully, Yukio had promised to listen to all of them and let them know what happened.  
He wondered if Roy had found out about this little secret though, as he had sat them both down on the couch. Yukio looked just as confused as him as Roy stepped into the room with a big box.  
As Roy set the box down on the coffee table, he finally spoke up. "Dad? Why are we here? Are we in trouble for something?" Yukio asked.  
"Not at all," he said, "In fact, I have a present for you two. Go ahead and open the box."  
The boys looked surprised before glancing at each other and tearing open the cardboard box. They both smiled with glee at the contents: Books on how to preform alchemy.  
"Woah! cooooooool!" Rin cried.  
"Thank you so much, Dad! This is awesome!" Yukio chirped as he pulled one out and cracked it open.  
Roy smiled at the pair. "You're very welcome," he said. Rin frowned though as he pulled out his own book. Roy raised an eyebrow at him. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.  
"No, it's just...." he said, "I though you didn't want me to do alchemy."  
"I never said you couldn't do alchemy. I only forbade flame alchemy," Roy explained before smirking as he continued, "...and depending on how well you do with mastering the basics...I just might be willing to teach you how to do flame alchemy."  
Rin's eyes lit up as he looked at Roy in shock. "R-really?!" he squeaked, clutching the book in his hands.  
"I said might!" Roy said, holding up a finger, "I will promise nothing." That warning didn't stop Rin from bouncing up and down in delight. "OH THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" He cried as he jumped up and hugged Roy, "You're the best!"  
The flame alchemist chuckled. "Well I certainly try..." he thought.  
....  
(Three days earlier)  
"You idiot!" Envy cried as he kicked gluttony. The large homunculus whimpered as the scrawny one assaulted him while he continued to rub his new reformed arm. "What were you thinking just attacking some kid in the street like that! You could have blown our cover to a state alchemist!" he shrieked.  
"But I was so hungry!" gluttony whimpered.  
"Yeah and I hate the guts of every human alive, but you don't see me slinking into the streets to torture someone to death in broad daylight!" Envy snapped, "If Pride hadn't saved your pathetic ass, the flame alchemist would have found out about us, or worse, actually figure out how to destroy one of us!" He kicked his chunky sibling, causing him to whine.  
"Stop it Envy," Lust hissed at the shapeshifter, "You aren't doing any good by hurting him."  
"Sure feels good..." Envy muttered. He stopped, however, as she glared at him, extending her claws to threaten him.  
"Besides," she said, "We have bigger issues at hand."  
"Yes..." Pride said from the shadows, his many tendrils stretching out from the darkness, "That child...Rin. I do not believe that he's truly human. I felt something off about his presence. He did something to Gluttony."  
"He burned my hand! With pretty blue flames!" Gluttony offered, "And he smelled funny. Not like most humans."  
"So what are you saying?" Envy asked carefully, "Do you think he's some how one of us?"  
"No," Pride said, "This one is different...I...do not like his presence." "The two boys showed up out of no where. I thought nothing of it at first....but the one who brought them felt powerful...he felt like he was apart of the gate," he explained.  
The three other homunculi looked up in surprise. "Are you sure?" Envy hissed, "Are you saying these two are from the gate?"  
"I don't know..." Pride growled, "And I hate not knowing...the bastard just appeared out of nowhere, and disappeared just as quickly." Pride could feel his anger bubbling up inside from his own confusion on the matter.  
"Well whatever the deal is with these kids," Lust said, crossing her arms, "Father would certainly like to hear about this." The other three homunculi murmured in agreement.


	10. Poor planning and luck

Eight months later....

Major Hughes whistled as he headed down to the mail room with a smile on his face as he held a stack of letters. It had taken forever to finish these requests for documents, but it should be worth it if the files he wants have what he needs for his next investigation.  
He waved to the receptionist as he opened the door to the military postal office. After slapping some stamps on the letters, he put them in the correct slot and turned to leave. Just as he was about to head for the door, something caught his eye. Maes turned to see a package in the mail cart labeled for Roy Mustang. The front of the box had the insignia of the taylor Roy has to make his ignition gloves.  
Maes raised an eyebrow. Why was Roy ordering more? Didn't he have a whole case full of these? He shrugged before turning back towards the lady behind the counter. "Hey, mind if I go ahead and deliver this?" he asked. The woman looked up from her book and nodded. "Thanks!" he replied and picked up the package before heading out the door.  
.....  
Mustang frowned as he read the report he had received that morning. Another state alchemist found dead at the hands of these assassins. Roy felt a little sad as he had met the man durning the war and he seemed somewhat nice. His name was Andrew Fairfield, the Sand Trap Alchemist. He was a quiet fellow who specialized in using alchemy to create quicksand, tarpits, and sticky mud traps to capture enemy combatants. Roy frowned as he remembered the poor boy. The truth was, he had been against the war from the beginning, only joining the military to fund his archeological research, as he was trying to figure out a way to use alchemy to uncover ruins and fossils. He had been very much against violence in ishval before and after the war.  
Roy folded his hands as he set the report down. "If those murderers would go after a man like him, so openly against the war and repentant of his actions, then these people really don't care who they hurt to get their revenge," he thought to himself, "All the more reason to be cautious I suppose. Maybe I should take the boys out of town for a while..."  
Roy was snapped out of his train of thought as the door opened and Maes stepped into the room. "Hey Roy! What's up?" he asked cheerfully.  
"Oh not much...just more wanton murder it seems," he said with a sigh, "Have you read the morning report yet?"  
Maes frowned. "Yeah, it really is a shame. Poor kid. Had his whole life a head of him. I think he was only a year or so younger than you if I remember," he said with a sigh, "I guess we should count ourselves lucky we weren't the targets this time, though."  
Roy scoffed. "Who's to say we aren't next," he muttered darkly.  
"Just gotta be careful I suppose," Hughes said with a shrug before his mood shifted and he smiled again, "Good thing you got us to look out for you! Speaking of which, I picked this up for you in the mail room." He handed Roy the box and his friend smiled and thanked him "I don't know why you need more though," he said, "Don't you have a case full of them? And aren't these things pretty expensive?"  
Roy froze upon Maes' words and his smile fell. "Oh...no reason..." he said.  
Major Hughes narrowed his eyes at him. "Roooooy..." he said suspiciously, "What's in the box?"  
"It's nothing," he responded.  
"You didn't get anything weird like ignition socks, did you?" he asked.  
Roy gave him an incredulous look. "Ignition socks?!" he repeated in disbelief, "That's ridiculous! How would you even use them?"  
"I dunno, that just sounds like something you might call your taylor up and order when you were drunk," Hughes said with a shrug, "So if it's not something stupid like that, then show me! What, did you get some infused with copper so you could produce green flames?"  
Roy sighed. "Fine," he said, "but I don't want to hear one word from you!"  
"No promises," Hughes replied.  
Roy glared at him before shaking his head and opening the box. Major Hugh peered inside. He was slightly confused at first as he saw a pair of gloves, but they were much too small to fit Roy. Then realization dawned on him and a wide smile formed on his face. He tried to cover his mouth as he started to chuckle before bursting into full out laughter. "I can't believe it!" he said.  
"Hughes..."  
"I'm sorry but I can't!" he said, "Last year you were adamant about not teaching them flame alchemy, yet here you are, ordering them tiny ignition gloves!" Hughes then gave him a sly smile. "Couldn't stand up to their puppy dog eyes could you?" he said.  
Roy rolled his eyes. "That's not why and you know it!" he said. He then pulled the box away. "And stop looking at the gloves with that stupid face," he said.  
"I can't help it. They're adorable!" he said, "I can just imagine how excited those two will be when they get them."  
"Excited when who gets what?" Both men looked up in surprise to see Riza standing in the doorway.  
"Riza?" Roy said surprised, "What are you doing here?"  
" I needed to get you some documents that needed your signatures," she explained, "Now what were you two talking about?"  
"Roy got some ignition gloves for the twins," Maes explained.  
Riza gave a look of surprise. She had known the boys had been learning alchemy for a while. She had even gotten them a book on it for their birthday six months ago (Meanwhile Maes had gotten them a full set of metal toy cars and a model rocket kit). But she was surprised he'd be willing to teach them flame alchemy, especially with how dangerous he knew it could be. "Sir, are you sure this is a good idea?" she said, "They're eight years old. Do you really think the two can handle something like that?"  
"Actually, I'm only teaching one of them," he explained, "Rin."  
Now both Maes and Riza looked surprised. "Really? Why him? With all due respect, Sir, out of the two of him he seems like the least likely one to have the discipline for it," she said.  
"Yeah, I would have sworn you were teaching Yukio instead. He is the more level headed and careful out of the pair," he explained.  
Roy shook his head. "Yukio has no interest in the subject. He's more interested in bio alchemy. Ask Gracia. She'll tell you how he's been turning leaves into flower petals and grass roots into baby carrots," he explained, "As for why I'm teaching, I hope teaching him flame alchemy will help him learn self discipline. Plus, with what's been going on lately, I want him to have a way of defending himself." That was a partial truth. He did want Rin to be able to defend himself. However, he also wanted Rin to be able to control his powers, and it looked like flame alchemy would be his best option to start.  
Riza pursed her lips and nodded. She knew he was no idiot and wouldn't be teaching Rin if he though he couldn't handle it, but still there was a part of her that didn't like the fact that Roy was just giving her father's research that he put so much effort into protecting to a child. She had trusted Roy with it...and a small part of her felt a little betrayed. Still, she trusted that Roy knew what he was doing. Even if she was still a little suspicious of his motives.  
"So where are you planning on teaching him?" Maes asked, "Cause I don't think it'd be very smart to teach him in your own house."  
Roy leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. "Well I was thinking of maybe taking a month's leave with them out somewhere secluded, so we won't draw too much attention and then coming back and renting out the firing range when he's got better control...but I don't know where to take him."  
"How about out by Youswell?"Maes asked, "It is a military owned area. It wouldn't be too suspicious if you went there. Plus there are some quarries near by for practicing in."  
"Nah, too far east. Besides, I don't trust the guy running the coal mines out there," he said.  
"What about Risenbool?" Riza thought, "There are lots of wide open spaces out there. Not too many people. Plenty of fresh water too to stop any fires."  
"Also pretty far east," he said, "Plus its almost a two hour car ride to any city with a hospital."  
"Oh, I got it!" Maes said, snapping his fingers, "How about Dublith?" "I've been there once before," he explained, "It's a decent sized town with at least two medical centers. There are quarries near by for practice and plenty of fresh water sources. Plus, the lake is a big tourist destination, so it won't seem weird if you take a leave to stay there for more than a week."  
"Hmm..." Roy said stroking his chin and smiling, "That sounds perfect actually." "Dublith it is then," he said.  
...  
Roy gazed out the train window as the world zoomed by. It hadn't been too difficult to get the time off. After all, he really hadn't used any vacation time since he joined the military(not that he had much of a chance too), and he still had a few sick days open. The one good thing about the recent assassination attempts was that it made his superiors a little more willing to let him go. After all, they couldn't risk loosing their only fire alchemist if those fiends struck again. Roy glanced over at the two boys. Rin sat opposite to him and Yukio sat next to him. Rin was swinging his legs as he doodled in a sketchbook while yukio was reading. Both had been really excited about this vacation of sorts, Rin especially. He practically leapt for joy when he heard that Roy would be teaching him how to use fire alchemy, and he promised to take Yukio on a few nature walks, making the spectacled boy smile with glee.  
Roy closed his eyes and relaxed into his seat, adjusting his fake glasses. He tried to lie back and rest but he felt cold. He missed the military coat he usually had. He could have used it as a blanket. Now he was wearing everyday civilian wear. Far from central he may be, he still didn't want anyone to recognize him. He'd been in too many newspapers after the Ishvalain Civil War being hailed as a war hero for some one not to at least once. Roy frowned as he thought about those papers. He was no hero to anyone. All that war was, was a slaughter fest of the innocent. Very little separated his actions from the likes of that psychopath and war criminal Solf J. Kimbley except the fact that Roy didn't get off on the atrocities he committed. Roy shook his head to clear his thoughts. He didn't want to think of that damn war or that lunatic. He was spending time with Rin and Yukio.  
A few hours later, the three got off the train. It was a little after noon when they arrived. All three of them stretched as they grabbed their luggage and got off.  
“Alright then, there are a few restaurants around here. What are you guys hungry for?” he asked.  
“Sandwiches!” Rin shouted. Yukio nodded in agreement.  
“Alright then,” he said, “Let's go find a deli.” With that they headed out into the small town.  
….  
“that’ll be 1500 cens, sir,” the young man behind the counter said.  
“Thank you,” Roy responded handing over the money.  
The young man handed him the sack with the sandwiches, but gave him an odd look in the process. “Hey, have I seen you somewhere before?” he asked.  
“Probably not. I just have one of those faces,” Roy responded with a smile. The teenager smiled and nodded before the trio headed out.  
The three sat at a table outside the the deli near the street. As they ate their sandwiches, Roy took the opportunity to relax and people watch from the street. It was so peaceful out here, though there were more people on the street than expected for a small town. Still, things were less busy than central. People strolled down the streets with out a care. One woman with dredlocks crossing the street with her groceries ambled along at her own pace, more concerned with making sure the heavy paper bag didn’t rip than whether there was a car coming on the lazy street. Everything was peaceful….  
Except for one car that is. Roy spotted it coming down the hill out of the corner of his eye. It was easily going twice the speed limit and didn’t look like it was going to stop. The driver honked a few times, trying to swerve. He must have lost control of the vehicle. It was then that Roy realized it was going to hit the woman crossing the street in a matter of seconds.  
In a matter of seconds, Roy was up and ready to jump into action. He ran into the street and pulled the woman out of the way of the car, causing her groceries to spill onto the ground and the two to topple over into the sidewalk. The car swerve once more before crashing into a fire hydrant.  
“that was amazing!” Rin cried.  
“Dad, are you and the lady ok?” Yukio called.  
Roy smiled at them as he started getting up. He then turned to the woman. “Are you alright?” he said, offering her a hand.  
The woman looked at him in surprise. “That was close…” she muttered, “Thanks.”  
“No problem,” he extended a hand out to her, “Need some help?”  
“She shook her head but then suddenly clutched her stomach and started hacking. Blood spilled onto the concrete from her mouth. Roy’s eyes widened and Rin and Yukio gasped.  
“is that blood?!”  
“Is she sick?!”  
“Ma’am!” Roy cried pulling her up, “Are you alright?! Here let me get you to a doctor.”  
“I’m fine!” she snapped.  
Roy’s jaw dropped. “Are you crazy?! You just coughed up blood!” he exclaimed.  
“I have a medical condition…” she said, giving him an annoyed expression.  
“I highly doubt dying is a medical condion!” Roy retorted.  
“Look,” she she said sighing, “I have been dealing with this for the last four years and before that survived in the mountains of Briggs for a month in the dead of winter. I. Am. FINE.”  
Roy fell silent at her statement. Then he sighed. “Alright, If you don’t want me to take you to a doctor then fine,” he relented, “But at least let me help you get your groceries home.”  
The woman stared at him before finally nodding. “Alright,” she responded.  
Roy nodded and began picking up the groceries from the ground. Luckily, nothing broke. "So what's your name?" he asked.  
"Curtis. Izumi Curtis," she said. Roy nearly dropped the apple he had picked up off the ground. She was the women who had been on the phone before?! "Who are you then?" she asked.  
"Uhhh...." he started, "Okumura....Roy Okumura." The boys gave him a confused look, but Izumi seemed to believe him. "These are my sons, Rin and Yukio," he continued.  
She turned and smiled at the boys. "It's nice to meet you three," she said, "Come on. my house is this way."  
...

They walked back to her house, she occasionally asking questions along the way. "I haven't seen you around here," she said, "Where are you from?"  
"We're from central. We're just staying here for a month," he explained.  
"Ah tourists," she said as she carried half the groceries, "Should have guessed."  
"What do you do, Mr. Okumura?" she asked.  
"I'm a teacher," he said. It wasn't a lie. When he wasn't doing stuff for the military, he was helping Rin and Yukio with their studies. Of course, he couldn't tell her about being in the military, as he didn't want her to deck him in the face. The two boys gave each other confused looks. Roy looked over his shoulder and brought a finger to his lips in a shushing motion to them when she wasn't looking.  
As they neared her house, she continued asking questions. "So where are you two staying?" she asked.  
"We haven't decided yet," Roy explained, "I was going to head into town later today and get a room from one of the inns."  
Izumi turned to him and gave him an incredulous look. "You guys have no idea what you're doing do you?" she said, "This is the first week of summer. The biggest tourism bout of the year. You can't just walk into town and expect to get a room the day you come in. They've all been booked several days in advanced!"  
Roy, Rin, and Yukio all blanched before sharing worried looks. "Are you sure?" Roy asked.  
Izumi nodded solemnly. Before Rin and Yukio could start to panic, however, she spoke up again. "Don't get your pants in a twist," she said, "You're not going to have to sleep in the streets. Look, you helped me, so I'll help you. You can stay the night in our guest rooms. Equivalent exchange."  
Roy smiled and nodded at her as they walked up to her house. "Thank you," he said.  
She shrugged as she unlocked the door. "Don't mention it," she said. "Sig, I'm home!" She called into the house, "and I have guests."  
A giant, burly man entered the room. He was covered in hair and was as wide as he was tall. Rin and Yukio hid behind Roy, who was staring up at the man, trying not to gape. "Sweetie, who are these three?" he said in a deep monotone, "Are they friends of yours."  
"Hardly," she said, "I just met them today, but Mr. Okumura here saved my life."  
Sig's eyes widened slightly and his pupils dilated as they flickered from her to Roy and back. "Really? How?" he asked.  
"There was a car who's driver had lost control of it, probably a broken break system. I was crossing the street and it was about to hit me when he pulled me out of the way. I wouldn't be here without him," she explained.  
Sig stared at her before going up to her and hugging her. She chuckled as he held her close. "I'm fine, Sig! Don't worry about it!" she giggled as he leaned down and kissed her forehead and cheek. Rin pretended to gag and Yukio shoved him for it.  
He then turned to Roy. He walked straight up to him and looked him dead in the eye. Roy had to admit, he felt like running from the giant, and him suddenly putting his ham-sized hands on his shoulders didn't make him feel any more comfortable. Roy could feel himself sweating as Sig stared him down. "Thank you," he said in his stoic monotone.  
"No problem..." Roy mumbled.  
"Well, you three can settle in," Izumi cut in, "There's a room upstairs and and one down stairs."  
Roy nodded at them. "Thank you," he said.  
"We call the room upstairs!" Rin shouted, "Last one there is a rotten egg!" The two took off up the stairs.  
"Rin! Yukio! No running! This is not your home!" he shouted, before he turned to the couple. "I'm sorry about those two," he said, "They forget how to behave when they get excited."  
Izumi turned from watching them with a smile. "You should treasure them like this. They won't be this way for long." she said. Roy smiled back at her. She then became more stern. "Though you really should warn them not to run in here," she said, "This is a butcher shop. It's no place for kids to be messing around."  
Roy nodded. "Duly noted Mrs. Curtis," he responded.


	11. Guests at the Curtis House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, this is one of the first times I've written Izumi. If you have any suggestions to help me better portray her character, please let me know!

"Are you serious?" Roy snapped in agitation, "The entire week?"  
The person at the front desk nodded, a look of pity in his eyes. "Sorry Sir, but I'm afraid we're booked until next Monday," the stout man said.  
"You don't have a single room available?" he said, "Not even a single bed one?" The man shook his head no. Roy groaned and ran a hand down his face. This was the third and last inn in town and he had gotten the same answer from each of them. They were completely full for the next seven days...Well that wasn't entirely true. The cheapest one was booked for the next week and a half! Roy ran a hand through his hair as he thought over what he should do next. His only optioned seem to be beg Izumi to let them stay a little while longer. That was not a conversation he was looking forward to. He furrowed his brown in thought as he exited the building. There had to be something he could do...  
Roy scratched the back of his neck as he looked down the street where he spotted a bank. His eyes widened slightly as an idea came to mind.  
....  
Izumi heard the front door open from where she was standing at the stove. "Dad!" the two boys had called from where they were standing beside her to look out through the door to the kitchen. Roy walked through the door and smiled to them as he strolled over to them.  
"Hey you two," he said walking up to them, "What were you doing in the kitchen?"  
"They were helping me out," Izumi said, "I'm a little surprised with how well they know their way around a kitchen. Where did they learn how to cook? You haven't been making them cook for themselves have you?" There was a slight hint of amusement in her voice despite the accusation.  
"No, but I don't refuse help when I can get it," Roy said.  
"Well, dinner's almost ready," she said, "so go ahead and park a seat." Roy did so. The five of them all sat down to eat the vegetable soup and pork loin the boys and Izumi prepared. It was absolutely delicious, particularly the pork loin. Though he guessed he should have expected that as these two did own a butcher shop. You couldn't get a better cut of meat. As they ate  
"So, what brings you to Dublith?" she asked, "Not many like to stay for the whole months at a time. Dublith is a pretty place for a few days but people don't tend to stay long."  
Roy hesitated. He didn't know how to respond at first. "Well you see," he started.  
"Dad brought us here to teach us alchemy," Rin explained cheerfully.  
"Oh?" Izumi said, raising an eyebrow curiously as she looked at Roy, "So you're an alchemist as well?"  
"Yes, well," Roy began.  
"Yeah, he's pretty great," Rin continued, "He taught us everything we know."  
"Is that so?" she said, still glancing at Roy, "What is he teaching you."  
"Well, I mostly just taught them the basics," Roy said before Rin could speak, "They know about how to repair broken objects and reshape things. Yukio is staring on bio alchemy."  
"And I'm going to be starting fire alchemy!" Rin said proudly. Roy could feel his heart skip a beat as he froze at that statement. His mouth became a thin line.  
Both Sig and Izumi looked surprised for a moment. They shared a look before turning back to him. "You know fire alchemy?" she asked him, looking him dead in the eye, "I hear that is pretty uncommon."  
"It is, yes," Roy said, "My master only took on a few students and taught them how to use it."  
Izumi stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Well, your son must be really lucky to have his father be able to teach him such a discipline," she said, turning back to her plate before changing the subject. "So, where else have you traveled?" she asked. Roy sighed in relief and smiled before responding.  
After they were finished, Roy patted his stomach. "Thank you for the meal," he said as he stood up and faced Izumi, "It was delicious. You and the boys did a wonderful job."  
Rin and Yukio smiled proudly while Izumi nodded in thanks. Roy moved to leave, when suddenly, Izumi stabbed a knife into his sleeve through the table, pinning him there. Rin and Yukio gasped. Although he was unharmed, Roy's heart was beating a mile a minute in fear. He looked up at the deranged house wife to see her glaring at him.  
"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded, "I said you could stay the night for free. I didn't say you could eat my food for free!"  
"What?" Roy asked still eyeing her carefully, "Well then what do you want from me?"  
Izumi pointed at the sink. "You're going to help me wash the dishes," she said, pulling the knife out of his sleeve. "Go on," she said, "Move it." Roy did as he was told and moved towards the sink. He was suddenly very glad she didn't know about his position in the military. He didn't want to know how much worse he reaction would have been had she known. She then turned to the boys who were still staring at him in shock. "You two may leave," she said, "Go on and get ready for bed." The two nodded before running off, eager to escape the suddenly much more threatening person.  
Izumi then turned and moved over to the sink, beginning to help Roy wash dishes. There was a long silence between the two of them. Finally Izumi spoke up. "You don't talk much do you," she said, "Your son did more talking than you."  
"Well, forgive me if I'm a little intimidated by a woman who pins me to the table with a knife," he said, "....but I did have something to ask of you."  
She turned towards him and raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?" she asked.  
"I was wondering if I could rent the rooms you lent us for the next week," he said, "I went to all the inns in town and there isn't another open room for a week. I have money and am more than willing to pay."  
Izumi gave him a scrutinizing glare. Roy felt nervous for a moment. Finally she broke his gaze and sighed. "Very well," she said, "You can stay as long as you like. So long as you're paying and pick up after yourself, because I certainly am not."  
Roy smiled at her. "Thank you, Mrs. Curtis," he replied.  
"...though I must warn you, my price is steep," she said with an evil smirk, "20,000 cenz."  
"That doesn't seem so bad..."  
"A night," she finished.  
Roy sputtered. "Are you serious?!" he demanded.  
"Dead serious," she said, "After all, you're paying for two rooms and three home cooked meals a day."  
Roy glared at her and sighed. "Fine..." he relented. It wasn't that bad...his bank account could take the dent after all.  
"Good!" Izumi said as she finished up and turned off the sink. "Have a good night sleep!" she chirped as she left the room.  
....  
Roy helped Yukio and Rin get ready for bed. “Goodnight dad,” Yukio said as Roy pulled the sheet over him.  
“Yeah, ‘night,” Rin yawned. He lied down and closed his eyes as Roy was leaving. His face scrunched up as a thought came to mind. “Dad?” he called to Roy, “Why did you lie to Izumi?”  
Roy sighed as he turned back to him. “Because I knew of Izumi before. And I knew she doesn't like military officers.”  
“Why?” the both asked sharing confused look.  
“Well I don’t know for sure, but a lot of people don’t like the military,” he said, “They don’t like people being hurt or killed and blame the soldiers for wars as much as the higher ups.”  
“That's not fair…” Yukio said.  
“Yeah, it's not the soldiers fault that wars happen!” Rin added.  
“But the soldiers were the ones that killed people,” Roh pointed out, “their anger is not unjust, and arguing with those people is pointless.”  
“But they shouldn’t treat you badly!” Yukio said, “You protect them, don’t you?”  
Roy shut his eyes tightly as he felt a pang of guilt. “Not always. Sometimes I have to break up riots and other things that can inadvertently cause harm to civilians. I try to do good, but I can’t always,” he said, “And that's one of the reasons why I’d appreciate you not talking about my position around people we don’t know.” The boys looked at each other before nodding tentatively.  
He smiled at them. “Thank you,” he said with a smile, “Now sleep tight you two. We’ll be up early tomorrow,” he said before turning out the light and leaving the room.  
….  
“Are we there yet?” Rin asked as the continued on the forest trail, carrying a bucket of water with him. Roy was carrying two as well. The pair had been walking towards a quarry alone. Roy had originally wanted to bring Yukio to watch, but realized there was a possibility he could get hurt. So, he had him stay and help out Izumi for a day.  
“Not just yet,” he said, “I know you’re excited, but it’s just a little bit farther.”  
Rin huffed and pouted impatiently. Eventually, the exited the forested area and into the quarry. Rin smiled and ran out into the gravel while pulling on his gloves.  
“Slow down!” Roy warned, “You’ll trip over the loose rocks.”  
“Ok, so what are we doing first?” Rin said.  
“Well, first we’re going to see how well you can channel fire,” Roy said, “You are going to make a few controlled explosions at different distances.” “But before you start snapping, repeat what makes up the atmosphere,” Roy said.  
“Nitrogen, Carbon dioxide, Oxygen, Carbon monoxide, water vapor,....aaand traces of helium,” Rin said counting off on his fingers.  
Roy nodded. “Now, get into position and hold you hand up,” Roy instructed, “Focus and stand firm so you don’t get sent flying back by your own blast.” Rin nodded and took up a stance, a serious look on his face. “Now focus on the space ten feet in front of you and condense the oxygen in the air,” Roy continued, “And….go.”  
Rin snapped his fingers and a large plume of flames exploded about three yards in front of him. He looked at it excitedly and turned to Roy expectantly. Colonel Mustang nodded before speaking. "That was a good first attempt," he said, "But you need to condense the oxygen better. Otherwise you'll cause too much collateral damage."  
Rin frowned before nodding and trying again. It took him three more tries to get the size of the explosion under control. "Well done," Roy praised, "Now do that same thing ten more times. If you mess up, start over with one."  
Rin gawked at him. "But Dad!" he started.  
"No buts!" he said, "Just because you did something well once doesn't mean you can get it right the next. Practice makes perfect, and with something as volatile as flame alchemy, you can't settle for less than that."  
Rin nodded and did as he said. He continued to practice controlling the size of his flames for the next fifteen minutes before Roy let him move on to distance. Slowly, foot by foot he let him move farther and farther away, until over two hours later he could control the size of flames from over a hundred yards away.  
Rin huffed and puffed from the the mental strain such intense concentration put on him. His fingers were tired from snapping and he flopped down on his backside, slightly sweating from the heat outside. "Are we done?" he asked, wiping h  
is forehead.  
Roy nodded. "For today. We'll be back tomorrow to pick up where we left off," he said, "For now, lets clean up our mess." He picked up one of the buckets. "We have to put out whatever fires we started," he explained. Rin groaned as he looked over his shoulder and saw several smoking spots among the rocks.  
....  
It was an hour later when Rin and Roy returned to the Curtis House to find Yukio sweeping the front step. Rin blinked in surprise when he he saw him. "Yukio? What are you doing?" he said.  
"I thought Mrs. Izumi would like some help around the house and I didn't have much else to do, so I offered to sweep for her," he explained.  
"He's done a pretty good job too," Izumi said, "Too bad Rin and you couldn't have gotten back earlier. He could have helped me prepare lunch."  
"No way!" Rin said, "I'd still be too tired! Dad put me through the wringer with training!"  
"Oh?" she said raising an eye brow and frowned, though there was little pity in her eyes.  
"Yeah, he kept making be do the same thing over and over again for hours," Rin said, "and made me start over when I slipped up even once."  
"Practice makes perfect," Izumi said simply, shrugging him off.  
"Yeah, but this was harder than any other kind of alchemy I've done!" he said, "I had to constantly stay focus, and he wouldn't let me get distracted for a second! It was fun at first but then it became like a chore. I didn't even get to do the cool tricks that dad can do. I just had to keep making small burst of flame...."  
"I've told you before that it's a difficult discipline," Roy explained, "Fire isn't like any other material. Its not self contained and stable like a solid nor is it connected and predicable like a liquid. It is spontaneous and wild and doesn't bend to one's will easily. That is why you must practice control first before you do anything else."  
"But Dad-"  
"Don't argue with your father!" Izumi suddenly snapped, surprising everyone else. "He's right," she chastised the boy with crossed arms, "You can't just rush into things. You must first understand the materials you are working with in every aspect. That is one of the basic pillars of alchemy."  
"I know that!" Rin explained, "Dad had me studying all sorts of notes on fire and how to make it before hand. He made me dissect so many arrays my brain hurt! I understand fire per-"  
"No you don't!" she shouted, silencing him. The boy looked upon her with fear. "Knowledge and understanding are two very different things! One will get you killed and the other will save your life," she said, "Understanding doesn't stop at knowing the molecular make-up of an object or the meaning behind an array. It means grasping the truth of the nature of the materials you are working with! It means knowing that you are not a creator but simply a guiding force! That is how all alchemy is and that is how the world is." "That is why you must continue to practice the way your father has shown you," she continued, "If you do not learn to control yourself and work with the nature of the material you are working with, you will end up causing your own destruction!"  
Rin stared up at her, in awe of her words. Finally he bowed his head. "I'm sorry Mrs. Curtis," he murmured, "I'll try to work to understand fire better and do as my father says."  
She nodded to him. "Good," she said, "Now go inside to eat. Both of you." The boys nodded and headed inside. Izumi watched them as they went, not giving up her stern expression.  
"Thank you," Roy said, "I think he needed that."  
Izumi nodded. "Its something all alchemists need to understand," she said, "Equivalent exchange is more than a recipe for making objects and understanding extends beyond the periodic table. The world is not ours to control but to understand. We are but one small part of it. In the end, we can only give our all and hope it is willing to give back in return."  
Roy smiled at her. "You know, its rare I meet an alchemist with such respect for the world," he said, "You could be a great teacher, if for nothing else but to set people straight."  
Izumi smiled. "Thanks, but if you're asking me to help teach your kids, I'd have to say no. I doubt you'd approve of my methods," she said.  
Roy chuckled. "I'll take your word for it," he said.  
....  
It was a few days later and Izumi was finishing up folding laundry. She was mostly alone in the house. Sig was working in the shop and Roy had taken Rin out again to work on his alchemy. Yukio was there, but he was upstairs studying. The house was quiet, but that was alright. She was used to quiet.  
What she was not ok with, was the feeling of being watched she was getting. She could feel someone else's presence, but when she looked over her shoulder no one was there. She continued to fold clothing for a little while longer before finally speaking up. "Whoever, you are, I know you're there. I don't know your intentions, so you better come out and face me or I'll beat you twice as hard for trying to hide from me in my own home," she called.  
There was a small "Eep!" that came from behind the staircase. Yukio stepped out, looking slightly scared. Izumi's eyebrows raised in surprise. She hadn't even heard the boy come down the stairs.  
"Oh, it's you," she said, "Didn't mean to scare you. What do you need?"  
"Um...well," he said looking at the ground for a moment, "Well, you see I was wandering around upstairs after I finished looking through my textbook and I kinda found you're library..." His eyes flickered up to her apologetically before looking down again.  
She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "You shouldn't be snooping around like that!" she chid, "This isn't your house. You can't just enter any room you please without permission."  
"I know, and I'm sorry," he said, "But I was wondering if you'd let me look at a few of them. I saw one on turning plants into things like medicine and I was wondering if I could look at it..." "It's ok if you say no, though!" he said.  
Izumi narrowed her eyes at him before sighing. "Your not going to attempt any of it by yourself are you?" she questioned.  
Yukio shook his head no. "I'm just curious. I've heard alchemy can be used for medicine, but I don't know how," he said.  
She nodded before standing up. "Very well...I think I know which one you're talking about," she said as she lead him upstairs. She pulled out a book on basic medical transmutations. A lot of it was for transmuting different kinds of plants into healing herbs, but there were a few more complicated ones towards the back about healing wounds and making cough medicine that she didn't want him trying out. "You can read this, but I'd prefer if you'd do it where I can see you. And don't copy down any circles without my permission," she said. Yukio nodded and followed her back down stairs. He sat a few feet away from the couch where she was folding clothes and began reading.  
Izumi continued folding, glancing over to him every so often. After a while of silence, she spoke up. "So why aren't you learning fire alchemy?" she asked.  
"Hmm?" Yukio blinked at her in confusion.  
"Well, your brother is learning flame alchemy, so why not you?" she asked.  
Yukio shrugged. "I guess I just never wanted to," he said, "Dad actually didn't want to teach Rin at first. He was worried he'd hurt himself or worse. Rin had to try really hard to prove himself."  
Izumi raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" she said, "I thought he'd be happy to teach his sons his talent."  
Yukio shook his head. "No, he was really hesitant," he said, "Dad got really upset when he tried it on his own. He was really scared."  
Izumi smiled a little, glad to know of their father's concern over the matter. "And what about you, Yukio?" she asked, "What made you decided to look at a different field?"  
"I just thought it would be cool to use alchemy to make something helpful," he said, "Being able to create something has always appealed to me, and I think it's cool to be able to make something that was harmful or otherwise useless into something good."  
She smiled at him. Suddenly the door opened. And Rin and Roy walked through. Neither of them looked happy and Rin's shirt looked slightly burnt.  
"What happened?" Yukio asked with concern, "You guys ok?"  
"Yeah..." Rin huffed, looking away.  
"Rin got frustrated with today's lesson and accidentally set his shirt on fire," Roy explained, "He wasn't hurt, but now I need to get him some new clothing."  
"What got you so upset?" Yukio asked.  
"Dad had me doing that torch exercise again..." he said with a sigh. Yukio had heard about it. He was now having him work on accuracy. He did so by placing three torches close together and telling him to only light one on fire, and only the tip a that. The results had been disastrous. At best, Rin lit one up from where it was staked into the ground. At worst all three turned into a bonfire all at once.  
"You just have to keep practicing," Roy said.  
"I know that!" Rin said before muttering and climbing up the stairs, "I just wish I could get it right once!"  
.....  
When the week was almost over, Roy expected the boys to not want to go to an inn instead. They had grown attached to the couple, Rin even wanting to help Sig cut meat, which Roy was thankful that the man had turned him down. He was also not surprised that the couple agreed as they seemed to enjoy the boy's company too, even though Izumi would shout some very serious threats at them if they treid something stupid. Nor was he surprised when she told him it would cost about a thousand more cenz a night. However, when Roy decided to have a picnic with the boys, he was surprised to come back from the store to see the boys brawling on the front lawn.  
Roy was shocked at them. So much so that he almost dropped his bag of groceries. He had never seen these two fight before! Finally he snapped out of his shock and set down his groceries. "Hey!" he called angrily as he marched over to them, "Knock it off!" He pulled the two apart and glared at them. "What has gotten into you two?" he demanded, "When I left you, you were fine and now you're at each other's throats?! What the hell!"  
Rin blinked in confusion. "But we weren't," he explained simply. Roy gave him a confused look.  
"Mrs. Curtis's been teaching us how to spar," Yukio explained apologetically.  
"Yeah. Isn't it cool? She knows all sorts of martial arts forms!" Rin explained.  
Roy's eyes grew wide in surprise, before turning to where he noticed Izumi had been sitting on the steps. He gave her a look that demanded her to explain. She just smiled at him. "You're teaching them self defense, well so am I. That's what the extra thousand a day is for on you tab," she explained. Roy sighed and let the boys return to their sparring. He sat down next to the housewife and watched them practice the forms she had taught them. He had to admit, they weren't half bad. If they were having fun, he might have to find a class for them later in central...  
....  
Rin growled in frustration as he snapped his fingers again and once again, two torches were alight instead of one. "GAH!" he cried flopping onto his back, "This feels impossible!"  
"It's not impossible, it's just difficult," Roy explained as he put out the torch and dried it with alchemy. "Now let's try one more time and take a break," he said as he set them up again.  
"Why don't you try it," Rin said with a pout.  
Roy stared at him for a second with a raised eyebrow before speaking. "Alright," he said, "To prove to you it's not impossible." He finished setting up and walked over to where Rin sat. He then stood in front of the three torches and held his hand up. He narrowed his eyes before snapping his fingers. The end of the middle torch lit up. Rin gaped. "And I could manage that from almost ten more yards away," Roy said as he put away his gloves and went to put out the torches.  
"How did you get so good?!" Rin questioned.  
"I practiced," Roy said with a shrug and reset up the torches, "I concentrate and use my will to keep the flames controlled."  
Rin sighed. "Well, but how did you concentrate so well?" he asked, "It's always so hard to focus so much and condense the air. How do you do it?...beyond just practice."  
"Well I have to keep myself calm," he said, "Like with any other weapon, you can't use flame alchemy properly when you're not emotionally stable. Accuracy can go right out the window if you're mad."  
"...Really?" Rin asked as a thought dawned on him. Roy nodded. Rin paused and looked down at the ground. He had been upset this whole time...maybe that was messing with him. "Can we take a break now....and then try again in a few minutes?" Rin asked. Roy nodded again and the boy smiled.  
A few minutes later Rin stood up and faced the three torches. He took a deep breath and focused on the atmosphere around the torches. He pictured himself sifting out the oxygen from the carbon dioxide and the nitrogen to create a path and encircle the torch head. He narrowed his eyes and moved his hand into position.  
SNAP! A spark wizzed through the air. Rin gasped as he saw the aftermath. His eyes grew wide and his mouth stretched into a wide, toothy smile. The tip of the middle torch was lit.  
"I did it..." he whispered, as he stared in awe. "I really did it!" he cheered bouncing up and down, "Look! Look!" Roy smiled at his excitement and clapped slightly. "Good work," he said, smiling at him. He couldn't help but feel proud.


	12. Something wicked this way comes

Shiro woke up as water dripped onto his forehead. He slowly peeled his eyes open and sat up in his bed. Well, bed was generous word to use for what he had been sleeping on. So was cot. Platform was a better word to describe it. It jutted out from the wall of his ten foot by eight foot cell. As he sat up and stretched he wondered why he even bothered getting up. It wasn’t like he would be leaving. Over a year ago he had been charged and found guilty for knowingly adopting and hiding the spawns of Satan of his own will for seven years...against the orders of the vatican he might add.  
While he hadn’t been executed, which had been a very real possibility, he had been sentenced to life in prison, being confined to only one room. The walls of said cell had been plastered with hundreds of spell tags to prevent any demon from being summoned and coated with a thick layer of floor wax to prevent anyone from destroying them. He was not allowed to leave for anything. Anything he needed had to be brought to him, and even then what he could ask for was limited to books, newspapers, and the occasional visitor outside of basic needs. Still, he supposed, it could be worse. He had, after all, aided the antichrists for years.  
He was lucky they didn’t have him executed. His previous prestige as a paladin and ability to resist Satan had saved him….as well as the fact that they didn't believe him when he claimed the boys were dead. The Vatican wasn’t going to rest until they had proof that the boys were gone.  
Shiro lied back down in his bed, deciding to try and fall asleep again until they brought him lunch. However, this plan was thwarted as he heard a click as the door opened. Shiro raised an eyebrow as he saw Mephisto enter the room holding a chair and some kind of recording device. A guard followed him in.  
Shiro raised an eyebrow as Mephisto dismissed the guard and set up the chair. As the door locked behind them, Mephisto sat down in the chair cross legged. “Hello old friend,” he said, “Long time, no see!”  
“Indeed,” Shiro responded, “For a little while I thought you had forgotten about me. I’m surprised they let you visit though, though I guess the spell tags take care of any danger you might pose.” While there were no spell tags that could stop a demon king entirely, there were some that could significantly weaken them.  
“Oh, you have no idea,” Mephisto said with an irritated frown, “These things are giving me a terrible headache. I’ll probably throw up if I have to stay here longer than thirty minutes.” “Speaking of which, I’m sorry to say I’m not here entirely for a social visit,” he said, “I still work for the Vatican, and and as such I’m supposed to interrogate you.” He held up the recording device (which he hadn’t turned on yet) and gave a shrug of “what can you do?”  
Shiro sighed. “Figures,” he muttered. “I don’t suppose you could at least tell me how the boys are doing before we start,” he asked.  
Mephisto nodded. He had popped into their new universe to check upon them every once in awhile without them knowing. However, it had been awhile since his last visit as he had a nasty run in with the dog catcher. The one downside to being able turn into a dog was dealing with those idiots. Thankfully, he had gotten back at them. He still cherished the image of their reactions when they found the tires of their truck to be little more than a pile of bubbling goo. “They’re doing fine. They seem to have adjusted pretty well,” he said, “They appear to be learning alchemy now.”  
Shiro smiled. “That’s good to hear,” he said,”I don’t suppose I could send them a letter through you.”  
Mephisto raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think they’d let me leave with anything I didn’t bring with me?” the demon said.  
Shiro sighed. “I thought not,”he said, “There haven’t been any issues with demons yet, have there?”  
“Haven’t seen any demons,” he responded, “But I did notice something else that might be worrisome…” Shiro’s brow knit together as he stared at the demon intensely. “The last time I was there I noticed something in the shadows as I was walking around in disguise,” he explained, “Out of the corner of my eye I saw something following me. It appeared to be some kind of shadowy hand. When I turned to look at it, it would disappear. I could still feel its presence though.” “Whatever it was wasn’t a demon, however,” he continued, “It felt more human than that. It felt like many humans, actually. Hundreds, in fact. And it also felt hostile and very powerful...relatively speaking that is.”  
Shiro frowned and looked down. “You’re sure it wasn’t a high level demon,” he demanded.  
Mephisto rolled his eyes. “I know my own brethren and trust me, that thing was nothing more than a cheap imitation. It couldn’t cast a shadow on what their presence feels like,” Mephisto said before pausing and smirking, “You see what I did there?” Shiro glared at him. The demon's smirk fell. “Oh fine…” he huffed, “As I was saying, although whatever it was might find it difficult to take on someone like Amimon or I, it could dispatch a normal human quite easily.”  
“Shit…” Shiro curse, “Great. Instead of saving them, they simply traded one danger for another, possibly greater one…”  
Mephisto shrugged. “To be fair, you couldn’t have exactly prepared them for something like this,” he offered, “You would have needed a high level demon acting as a guard dog, and I’m not doing that no matter what you offer in exchange.”  
“Guard dog….” Shiro muttered as he rested his head on his folded hands. Suddenly, he shot up in his seat as an idea struck him. “What about a guard CAT?” he said with a smirk. Mephisto raised an eyebrow at him. “Kuro is still my familiar,” he explained, “If you take him to Rin and Yukio, he can act as their body guard. He’s been guarding the school for a while now, so it should be nothing new to him.”  
“Hmmm…..” Mephisto hummed as he tapped his chin, “That could work...but I need you to do something for me in return.”  
Shiro raised an eyebrow. He didn’t know what he could do for his friend while in here, but he nodded anyways. “The truth is that some are starting to suspect that I’m helping you hide them,” he said, “They’re only rumors for now, but you know how quickly rumors can turn into investigations.” “We both know they aren’t going to stop until they have their bodies,” he said, “And something tells me you might have learned something about how to fake a corpse in Amestris...or at least someone who does….care to point me in the right direction?”  
Shiro nodded. “You might be able to ask Roy about that,” he said, “If he’s still a state alchemist-”  
“He is,”  
“Then from what I understand he should have access to that kind of information,” he said.  
Mephisto smiled. “Thank you,” he said. “Now that that’s out of the way,” he said pulling out the recording device again, “Time to put on a show for them.”  
…  
“Dad!” Yukio called from the brush, “Come quick! You’ve gotta see this!”  
The colonel wandered over to him. It was their last day in Dublin before they had to catch a train and head out, and Roy had decided to take it easy by taking the boys to the island out on the lake and explore. Izumi had said that there weren’t any large animals and it was pretty safe.  
“What did you want to show me?” Roy asked. Yukio held up a finger to his mouth and pointed to the tree in front of them. At the base there was a den with a mother fox and three cubs. He smiled. “They’re very cute,” he said, “I don’t think I’ve seen foxes this close up before. I’m sure your brother would like to-”  
“Dad! Yukio!” Rin called to the two of them from a few meters away, “You gotta see this!” The two got up and walked over to where the boy was standing just outside a clearing. He was cupping his hands around something and he had an excited look on his face.  
“What have you got there? Some kind of toad?” Roy asked, still smiling. His smile faded however, as Rin opened up his hands to reveal something small and black: a koaltar. Even Yukio froze as he looked at it.  
“Rin….” he said carefully, “Where did you find this?! Drop it now!”  
Rin blinked in confusion but did so. The koaltar floated away. “I found it over in the clearing,” he explained, “Why?”  
Roy rushed past him into the clearing. In the middle there was a stone circle where he saw three more koaltars floating. He could feel a pang of fear and looked around for any more demons. He sighed in relief as he didn’t see any but that didn’t calm him completely, as he still had one question on his mind: Why were they here? Roy had a guess as to why, so he moved towards the circle carefully to examine it. He felt his stomach fill with dread as he saw that on the stone pattern embedded into the ground, there was a the remnants of a transmutation circle that had been painted on it several years prior. Someone must have tried human transmutation here.  
“Boys, we need to go,” he said, “Now.”  
“What?!” Rin cried, “Why? Is it because of that thing I found? What was wrong with it?”  
“It’s a demon Rin!” Yukio cried, “You shouldn’t be messing with those things, no matter how small.”  
“How do you know that?” He asked.  
“I saw a ton of them in the warehouse we were in before we got here,” Yukio explained, “They were swarming the area!”  
“What? I didn’t see anything,” Rin argued.  
Roy’s eyes widened in realization at that statement. He remembered that Rin didn’t have a temptant before he had gotten to their world. The only way he could be able to see demons is if he had gotten one in his time here. Roy felt fear pool in his stomach as he realised what this meant. Rin had gotten attacked by one of them while under his care. One could have gotten to him around here, or tracked him down in central or worse! There could be one hidden in his own home without him knowing! And all this wasn’t even considering what certain temptant could do to people. He remembered reading about how some could cause paralysis, cause depression and hallucinations, or even slowly drain someone’s life force! His heart began pumping a little faster and his breaths became quicker.  
“Dad?” Rin asked in concern, “Are you ok?”  
Roy turned to him before marching over to him with a purpose. He crouched down, clutched Rin by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eye. “Rin,” he said slowly, “I need you to be completely honest with me, ok?” He said, the boy nodded, looking very nervous. “Have you, or have you not seen any strange animals before this?” he asked. Rin shook his head no. “Have you been bitten or scratched by anything?” he asked. Once again, rin shook his head no. “Have you had any unexplained injuries in the past year?” he asked, “Like bruises,weird bumps, cuts, or burns?” Another no. “Have you heard any strange voices that no one else has heard? Or found it getting hard to wake up or move around?” Again no. “Have you seen anything around the house that doesn’t seem to belong?” he asked, “Like in the closet, or the basement, or near the cans outside?” Once again, he got a no. Roy then turned to his other son. “Yukio, have you seen anything?” Also a no. Roy breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. “Good…” he said. Maybe Rin had just accidentally burned himself while training or something...his blue flames are technically demon fire.  
“Well. I have seen a white dog hanging around the front porch once in awhile…” Rin said.  
Roy froze. A white dog? “Yeah!” Yukio responded, “I’ve seen it too! It’s some kind of terrier. It’s not always around, but it’s popped up all over the place. I’ve seen it at the park a couple times too.” Roy knew exactly what they were talking about. He had seen it around central too. He first saw it one day as he was going into work. He had tried to pet it, but it lept away and glared at him when he reached for it. It also ignored him when he brought it food. It had some kind of collar, so he went around asking anyone if they’d lost a dog, but everyone said no.  
Although he couldn’t remember seeing anything about a demon that looks like a little white dog in the book Shiro had left him (white foxes yes, dogs no), but it could be there were things in that book that could have been left out. After all, he doubted there was a book out there that contained every form of alchemy in existence. Either way, it would probably be a good idea to set up some salt lines in the house to make sure nothing could get in.  
“Come one you two,” he said, taking their hands, “Let’s get back to the boat and head out. It’s getting late.”  
…  
The following morning they had gotten up early to finish packing up and leave. The boys were sad to have to say goodbye to Sig and Izumi. Despite how harsh she could be when it came to breaking rules, they really came to love the housewife. When he was done packing, Roy entered the kitchen to say goodbye to Izumi.  
She was finishing up washing dishes from breakfast as he entered. “Izumi,” he said, getting her attention, “I just wanted to say thank you for all you’ve done for us. It’s been wonderful staying with you.”  
She stopped the water in the sink but didn’t turn to him. “I’m glad to hear that Mr. Okumura…” she said. Suddenly, she turned and four carving knives and a cleaver were flying at Roy. He began hyperventilating after just barely dodging them. He gave her an incredulous look, but that quickly dissipated into fear as she gave him a death glare. “Or should I say Colonel Mustang!” she spat as she crossed her arms.  
“Y-you figured it out then...” he noted in a high voice, laughing nervously.  
“Of course I did!” she said slapping him across the cheek, “What do you take me for? An idiot?!” “You’re the ONLY flame alchemist in the world. Every alchemist knows about you,” she said, “And did you really think I wouldn’t recognize your voice? Especially when you don’t even bother giving yourself a different first name! I can’t believe you thought you could just stay under my roof without having me figure it out, you pompous bastard!”  
Roy hung his head as he continued to sit on the floor. How could he have been so stupid as to think she wouldn’t have recognized him? Then another thought came to mind. “If you figured it out, then why didn’t you kick us out?” he asked as he stood up, “I know you don’t like the military, and you had every right to refuse us, so why?”  
Izumi paused in her rage and glared at the ground before sighing. “I may hate the military’s guts,” she said, “But I’m not heartless. I wasn’t about to shove children out into the street because their father was too incompetent to book a hotel room in advance.” “And I continued because I enjoyed having them around. To be honest, it was nice to have more people in the house for a while,” she continued, before smirking, “Plus, the money was good.” Roy frowned. He knew that had to be partially it. She had put a nice dent in his bank account. He hoped she was happy about that.  
“So that’s the real reason why you charged so much….” he muttered, “Anyways, thank you for letting us stay, despite your predispositions. It meant a lot to us. I can say for certain that the boys enjoyed it.”  
She nodded. “I hope you don’t mind, but I have one last thing to ask of you,” he said, “I need you to please not tell anyone about the boys.” Izumi gave a confused and shocked look. She was about to snap at him when he cut her off. “Let me explain,” he said, holding up his hands, “The truth of the matter is this: the boys technically aren’t mine. They were the wards of a friend of mine from another country. Due to certain circumstances that are no fault of their own, they fell under persecution. That friend of mine sent them to me to look after. Unfortunately, it happened so quickly that neither of them have legal documentation in this country. On top of that, there is a group of terrorists going after military personnel involved in Ishval. I don’t care if they go after me, but if word gets out about the boys, then they’ll be in just as much danger. That is why I need you to keep quiet about them.”  
There was a pregnant pause between them. “Alright. I just have one thing to ask of you in return,” she said, “Don’t make them become state alchemists. We both know they’re good boys and I don’t want to look in the papers one day and find that Rin or Yukio have become the hero of Creta or Drachma.”  
Roy winced slightly at the jab at his own title. “I promise that I’ll do the best I can to keep them out of service. I don’t want to see that happen any more than you,” he said, mentally shuddering at the idea of either of them experiencing when he had in Ishval, “...but I can’t control them. If when they are adults, they decide to go into military service, I can do little more than try to persuade them otherwise.”  
Izumi glared at him before sighing. “Fine…,” she grumbled, “I suppose that’s good enough. Now get out of here. I don’t want to have to look after you for another day because you three missed your train.”  
Roy smiled. “Thank you Mrs. Curtis,” he said, turning to leave. Then he remembered something. “Izumi, before I forget,” he said, looking over his shoulder, “While my sons and I were exploring the island yesterday, we came across a strange stone circle.” He could see her figure tense, fear apparent in her eyes as she narrowed them at him. Looked like his suspicions were confirmed. “...We found a rabid fox near by it,” he lied, “Make sure you’re careful if you ever decide to visit it.” He could visibly see her relax.  
“Duly noted,” she said. With that, Roy nodded and left the room.  
…  
Roy scowled at the paper in his hand as neared Central. He had picked it up on the way over the train station so that he might have something to do on the long ride home. He regretted that decision, as he read the front page title. “ASSASSINS STRIKE AGAIN! BLACK WIDOW ALCHEMIST AND COMPANION FOUND DEAD!” Major Autumn Gainsborough and her First Lieutenant Matthew Parker were found dead in an alleyway three days prior. He had not known the Major, but he had heard of her. She was an….interesting woman who to say the least was exceedingly clever. She was certainly very good at leaving an impression on people, that was for sure. Her specialty? Spiders. Well, specifically, producing artificial spider venom and silk. She was the only known alchemist to learn the full chemical makeups of different types of venom and spider silk and be able to reproduce them en masse…probably because she was the only one insane enough to enjoy being around the things for so long. The only one who dared go into her lab was Parker himself, which he had previously reported, was literally crawling with the things.  
Roy shuddered at the thought. He couldn’t imagine how horrible it would be for whatever poor fool that was assigned to clean out her lab to gather her notes for the central library. Thankfully, she did not die in vain. Before she was killed, she managed to wrap up one of her assailants in one of her signature sticky web traps, kill one with a brown recluse venom dart, and paralyzed another with a different dart. The other three got away. But this meant that now they had captured two of the ring of killers. The military might be able to get some information out of them that could put an end to this madness. Still, that didn’t mean they had nothing to worry about anymore.  
After the train pulled into the station, Roy hailed a cab to get them home. They were all eager to final be back home. Staying in Dublith was fun, but they all missed Central, and couldn’t wait to get back to their house and return to life as they had left it.  
...Unfortunately, it wasn’t how they had left it at all. As they a got out of the car, they were all surprised to find the door ajar. Roy swore he had locked the door before they left. Who could have broken in? Was it a robber? One of those assailants?...A demon? Roy pulled on one of his ignition gloves. “Kids, stay behind me,” he said as he walked carefully up to the door. He slowly pushed it open, hand ready to snap his fingers at any moment. He scanned the room fearfully...only to find Mephisto sitting on his couch sipping tea with a cat carrier beside him. “Close the door will you?” he said, opening one eye to look at them, “All the cool air is getting out.”  
Roy glared at him and dropped his hand. Rin and Yukio peaked out from behind him. “Mephisto?” they cried in surprise.  
“In the flesh!” he said waving a hand in the air.  
“What the hell are you doing here?” Roy demanded, “How did you get in? I locked the door!”  
Mephisto shrugged. “I have my ways,” he said, cryptically. “As for what I’m doing here, I have a little gift from Shiro,” he said, “Consider it a belated birthday present.”  
Both boys gasped. “Dad’s alive?!” Rin cried with joy.  
“Is he ok?” Yukio question, worry clear on his face, “What happened?”  
“He’s alive for now,” the demon explained, “He was captured by the Vatican soon after you left. He’s currently serving a life sentence for consorting with the devil.” “I spoke with him a few days ago, and he wanted to make sure you were safe, so he had me send you this.” He said, gesturing to the cat carrier. He tapped it with his umbrella and the lock came undone. The three humans were slightly startled as a black cat with twin tails and horns jumped out onto the floor. It shook itself and glared at Mephisto before beginning to lick its white paws.  
The boys both looked on in awe while Roy stared at it with suspicion.  
“Awww,” Yukio cooed.  
“That’s so cool!” Rin chirped happily.  
“Mephisto, what the heck is that thing,” Roy said, turning to glare at the demon.  
Mephisto merely smiled at him. “That ‘thing’ is the boy’s new familiar and household guardian,” he explained, “His name is Kuro. He’s a cat sidhe. A type of scottish fae.”  
“Awesome!” Rin said, running over to the cat-demon and starting to try and pet it, “I’ve always wanted a pet! Can you tell Dad thank you for us?” It looked a little startled by him at first, and tried to move away from the boy. Then Mephisto spoke up.  
“Kuro, this is Rin,” Mephisto explained, “He and his brother Yukio are Shiro’s boys. They’re going to be your new masters.” The cat immediately perked up at that and became more friendly to the boy, purring at his touch. Yukio smiled and also moved to pet the cat sidhe. Roy, however, was much less enthused.  
“Mephisto, I’m sorry, but I have to draw a line here,” Roy said, “I am not taking in a demon cat for Shiro too.” The boys whined in response and Kuro glared at him.  
“He’s not asking you to take him in,” Mephisto explained, “He’s giving him to you for protection. Kuro is a high level demon, completely loyal to Shiro and his sons. He can protect them from most any demon that may come after them. Seeing as you have about as much experience as an exwire in these matter, I believe you should be jumping at the opportunity.”  
“So there are still some holes between the worlds,” Roy concluded, “Big enough to cause trouble, I presume.”  
Mephisto shrugged. “It’s possible,” he said, “There will always be idiots that think that they can bend the world to how they see fit, and so there will always be a few dents here and there. But trust me, it’s nothing to worry about yet. Nothing that Kuro cannot handle could get through yet. If it was that bad, I would be here for a very different reason…”  
“And how am I going to explain a horned cat?” Roy asked, “or is no one going to be able to see him? Are Rin and Yukio just going to have to ignore him when others are around?”  
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Mephisto said, brushing him off, “A cat sidhe may be a spirit, but it still has a body of a cat. Anyone who looks at him who doesn’t have a temptant will just see a normal cat.”  
Roy finally relented and nodded. “Speaking of which,” Roy said, “Rin has a temptant now. We don’t know quite how he might have gotten it, but I have a suspicion. We’ve all been spotting a strange white dog around town like it’s been following us. It doesn’t look like a stray but it doesn’t let anyone near it. I think it may be a-”  
Mephisto cut him off by bursting out laughing.The three humans shared confused looks as he slowly calmed down. “Oh trust me, that dog didn’t give him a temptant,” he said, still chuckling.  
“How do you know that?” Roy asked curiously.  
“Because that dog was me!” Mephisto explained. The three present looked on in surprise. “What, you didn’t think I had a few tricks like that up my sleeve?” he said, “I’m the demon king of time and space. Transformation and illusions come with the tin.”  
“So you’ve been spying on us?!” Roy demanded.  
“More like checking up on you,” Mephisto responded, “After our last meeting, I got the pretty clear indication you didn’t want to meet face to face with me again for a while.”  
Roy growled before calming down. “Alright, so if you didn’t give him a temptant, then do you have any idea who did?” he demanded.  
“Yup! No one,” Mephisto said simply, “He doesn’t have a temptant.”  
“But-”  
“Because he doesn’t need one,” the demon finished, “As Rin’s powers emerge, he’ll gain a few other demon abilities, such as being able to see other demons without a temptant.”  
Roy breathed in relief. “Alright then,” he said.  
“Now I have a question for you,” Mephisto said, “Why does no one in your office know about the boys? I figured you’d want as much help with them as possible, but only a handful of people seem aware.”  
Yukio and Rin looked surprised. “You didn’t tell people about us?” Yukio asked, feeling hurt. Roy felt his heart sink.  
“Why? Aren’t you proud of us?” Rin questioned.  
“That’s not it!” Roy sputtered, trying to defuse the situation, “I’m very proud of you two! It’s just….I don’t know how to explain you two! There isn’t any legal documentation of you both!” The boys seemed to calm down as they accepted that.  
“Actually, there is,” Mephisto interjected, raising a finger. Roy rounded on him in confusion.  
“How,” he demanded.  
“Remember those three documents I had you sign?” Mephisto said, “Well two of them were adoption papers, one of which you kept, and one was a citizenship forum. They made you their legal guardian and granted them citizenship. After I visited you, I slipped the other two into your government’s records.”  
Roy stared at him blankly, completely dumbfounded. His dumbfoundedness slowly turned to rage. He spent the entire year tiptoeing around his friends when it turned out he may not have needed to! Roy gripped Mephisto by the lapels of his suit. “YOU COULDN’T HAVE TOLD ME THIS SOONER?!” he roared, as he shook the man.  
Mephisto seemed unaffected by this as he continued to grin. “Must have slipped my mind,” he said with a shrug. “Now hands off the coat,” he said before grabbing Roy’s arm and forcing it behind his back in a fraction of a second. He let him go and Roy fell into the spot where Mephisto had been sitting. “It’s an antique,” he said as he fluffed the jacket.  
“Dad!” both boys cried before running over to him.  
“He’s fine,” the demon king assured, before pulling him up to his feet, “See?” He let Roy’s arm go and the colonel glared at him as he rubbed his shoulder. “Now,” he said pulling a few sheets of paper out of his jacket, “Here is a list of requirements for caring for Kuro.” “He shouldn’t need much more than the average cat. Possibly even less,” he continued as Roy looked over the list.  
“What the heck is ‘catnip wine’? Are you saying this cat needs alcohol?!” Roy questioned.  
Mephisto simply smiled. “The recipe should be on the other sheet of paper,” he said, before pulling out a bottle from his jacket, “Here’s some Shiro had stored to start you off.” Kuro purred and tried to jump for the bottle as he handed it to Roy.  
“Also before I go, I have one more matter to discuss with you Roy,” he said.  
“What is it?” Rin asked.  
“I’m afraid this is a private matter,” the demon said, “You two take Kuro and run along.” The two shared confused glances before Rin scooped up the cat demon still meowing at Roy’s feet and went upstairs.  
The demon then turned to Roy. The colonel sighed and faced him. “What is it that you need?” he asked.  
“Shiro said you might have some info on how to produce something through alchemy,” he said, “And I need you to do so for me.” Roy raised an eyebrow. “How are you at making fake dead bodies?” Mephisto asked.  
….  
“I still can’t believe you got a cat!” Maes said over the phone, “I thought you hated cats!”  
“I don’t hate them…” Roy said, glancing over to the cat now drunk off of catnip wine. He had interrupted Hughes calling him to tell him about all he had missed in the month he had been gone by meowing loudly, pestering him for a little bowl of the wine. “But this one has already proven himself to be a pest,” he said, glaring at the drunken cat.  
“So how did you get the little guy?” his friend asked.  
“The boys found him in Dublith and begged me to keep him,” he lied.  
“You just can’t say no to those two, can you?” the spectacled man chuckled.  
Roy rolled his eyes. “It seems so,” he said, “Hey, would you mind calling Gracia later to tell her about Kuro?”  
“The cat? Sure!” he responded, “I’d be willing to stop by with her tomorrow morning with some pet supplies if you want.”  
“Thanks Hughes,” Roy responded with a smile, “I’ll be in need of some cat food and nip if you can get ahold of some.”  
“Sure thing!” he responded, “So how was your time in Dublith?”  
“Well,” he began until he heard someone wrapping on the window. He turned to see Mephisto peering in through the window next to the door. Roy cursed under his breath.  
“What’s wrong?” Maes asked.  
“I’ll call you back Hughes, there’s something I need to take care of real quick,” he said.  
“Curiousity about to kill the cat? I got ya,” he friend said, “Talk to you in a bit.”  
Roy then hung up and went down stairs to grab a garbage bag. He knew this was to help keep the boys safe, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed making fake corpses, and the fact that that damn clown was involved didn’t help.  
He opened the door to see the demon smiling. Roy shoved the bag into his arms without a word. “What? Not going to invite me in?” Mephisto teased. Roy glared at him before slamming the door in his face. Mephisto frowned at the the door as he stumbled back slightly. “Tch! Rude…” he muttered before turning on his heel and leaving.  
The demon king walked down the darkened street in near silence, the only sound of stirring being his own whistling. As he began to pass an alleyway, he stopped dead in his tracks. He glanced down at the ground to see shadowy hands that had been creeping across the ground dart away.  
He turned to look down the alley and smirked. “So we meet again,” he called “You know it’s rude to follow people.”  
“What are you?” the creature demanded.  
“It’s also rude to ask such personal questions before you even greet someone,” he said, leaning on his umbrella, “Didn’t your mother ever teach you any manners?”  
Mephisto heard the creature growl in annoyance. “I have watched you from afar for a long time,” it said, “I have seen you fade in and out of this existence. I have felt your presence. You are not of this world.”  
“Brilliant deduction!” Mephisto cried, clapping in a patronizing way.  
“I know all there is to know about the people in this city,” the shadow monster growled, “Except for you. You are an enigma. You are not human. So I ask again…” Two large, shadowy hands darted out from the alley and gripped his left leg and right arm, tugging on them. “What are you?” the shadowy creature demanded.  
Mephisto glanced at the two dimensional shadows gripping his clothes and tightening around his appendages.  
“Well if you must know…” he said, “I am a gentle man. And you my friend…” In the blink of an eye the demon king twisted out of the homunculus’ grip. Before it could even gasp in surprise, it was crying out in pain as Mephisto was now crushing one of the shadows in his hand and stabbing the other with his umbrella. The demon grinned maliciously as he spoke again. “Are really starting to get on my nerves,’ he hissed.  
“What the--How?! That’s impossible!” the homunculus screeched.  
“Oh, nothing is impossible,” Mephisto responded.  
The homunculus struggle in his grip. “How are you doing this?! Let me go! Let me go this instant, you worm!” it demanded. It tried to attack him with more shadow arms and spikes, but the demon king effortlessly dodged each one, though he had to relinquish the appendages he had captured as he did so.  
“Now, now!” the demon said, “a good magician never reveals his secrets.” “But I’m afraid I can’t stay to finish this little performance,” he said as he picked up the sack he had dropped, “Time waits for no man, after all! For now, I must bid you adieu.” He tapped his umbrella against the ground twice, causing him to dissapear in a puff of smoke.  
Pride was utterly baffled as to what had just happened. The man was gone! Simply gone! He felt like he was stuck in a dream. That man had touched him! Physically touched him! He was supposed to be able to touch others, not the other way around! As he collected himself, Pride slinked back into the underground. He had no idea how to explain what had just happened, but Father needed to hear about this.


	13. Introductions are in order

2200 hours, Thursday night, South Central Factory District  
Roy glanced from the radio to streets as he sat in the car stationed in the alley way, waiting for his target. He tapped his fingers impatiently, before picking up the radio and pressing the button on the side. “Mustang to Fuery. Have you spotted the targets yet?” he spoke into it. After the two Ishvalian sympathisers were captured, the had be brought in to be interrogated. While they gave no names of the other members of their group, they had managed to get the encryption code for their radio transmissions. Once they had figured out the frequency they were using, they were able to predict their every move. Course, they couldn’t act right away. If they struck at the wrong time then the ring of assailants would find out and change their encryption code, and then they’d be back to square one again. So here they were now a month later, lying in wait as the group of bandits gathered together to plot their next move.  
“Yes sir, the first are just starting to arrive,” Kain Fuery responded, “I’d give them thirty minutes for the last few stragglers to enter.”  
“Good,” he responded, “Lieutenant Hawkeye, is the rest of the team here yet?”  
“Yes, Sir,” her voice crackled over the radio, “Havoc Falman, Hughes, and Breda are all here, but we can’t get into position yet. They have guards posted on the roof surveying the perimeter.”  
Roy narrowed his eyes. “Think you can take care of them?” he asked.  
“Already working on a plan to,” she said. Roy smirked at that.  
“Good,” he said, “Major Armstrong, are your men ready?”  
“Indeed, Colonel,” the large man responded as quietly as he could, “We are position two blocks due south of the building in question.”  
“Good,” he said, tugging on his gloves as he grabbed his supplies from his car, “Remember, wait for my signal to attack.” He took his thumb off the button on the radio and shoved it into his pocket with his keys. He stepped out of the car and began walking down the road. “Now then….” he said, “Let's get this show on the road….”  
…  
When Roy stood across the street from the old factory, everything was quiet. Everything seemed at peace. He glanced up at the roof to see there were no guards present, he smirked. He had expected no less from Riza, but that didn’t stop him from appreciating a job well done.  
Roy pulled a lantern out of his pocket and unfolded it. Lighting the wick, he sent it floating into the air before he casually walked across the street. As soon as the lantern reached a hundred feet in the air, Roy had made it to the door of the factory. He kicked open the door and the peace was shattered.  
Men crashed through the windows and charged in through the emergency exits of the building. The twenty some people gathered devolved into panic at the surprise attack. Some pulled out guns and started shooting, but were quickly taken down by Havock and Lieutenant Ross. The rest tried to scatter, but the were quickly blocked off by either gun toting officers like Falman and Breda or large spikes created by Armstrong. With a snap of his fingers, Roy created a ring of fire around the perimeter that slowly shrank, corralling them in the center. With that, Roy lowered his hand and smiled. This long game was finally over.  
….  
Fuery had the MP at the ready to jump in and arrest the consperitors as soon as the ordeal began. Now they were dragging them out in single file to the police wagons to be taken back to central headquarters.  
“Good work Colonel,” Brigadier General Basque Grand said as he stood next to the much smaller man. He had arrived on the scene to oversee the arrest. “Now that these treasonous scum have been captured, they can get the justice they deserve on the chopping block,” he announced. Roy narrowed his eyes at the unusual amount of satisfaction he could hear in the man’s voice, but said nothing.  
“Ummm, Sir?” Sgt. Denny Brosh spoke up, “They will get a trial first, right?”  
“Trial?” the man repeated, looking at the young man as if he’d just grown a second head, “You think these lowlives deserve a trial?”  
Denny sunk under the intimidating bald man’s gaze. He began stuttering in response, when Riza suddenly spoke up. “With all due respect, Sir,” she interjected, “They are entitled to one. According to the law, every Amestrian is entitled to a fair trial. If we make an exception to this rule, we may only be fueling future aggression against the state.”  
The brigadier general narrowed his eyes at her. “I didn’t ask for your guidance in this matter, lieutenant,” he growled before walking away. Roy nodded and grinned at her after Basque left and she smiled at him in return.  
Roy then turned back to watch the last of the criminals be escorted away. The last person, a small woman with brown hair and blue eyes, broke away from the officer detaining her as she saw Roy. “You monster!” she shouted at him as she ran up to him. Roy moved into a defensive stance as she lunged forward but the police caught her. “You call yourselves heroes, protectors, but you’re nothing more than swine!” she spat, fire in her eyes, “You claim to fight for the good of Amestris but all you do is slaughter the innocent!” She stared him dead in the eye, anger and hate filling them. Roy couldn’t respond. He didn’t know how to. Everything she said was true.  
“Hey!” one of the police officers snapped and jabbed her, “That's enough out of you!” They began pulling her away.  
She struggled as the dragged her to the cars. “Don’t think this is over, you bastards!” she shouted, “You may have stopped us, but there will always be someone else to rise up and take our place! Ishval WILL be avenged! Blood will have blood!” With that last cry, she was shoved into the car and and the police drove her away.  
Roy watched as the car disappeared. His shoulders felt heavy and he let out a sigh. Riza saw him and placed a hand on his shoulder. They shared a glance before Roy gave her a weak smile and walked towards his men.  
He saw them gathered together with Armstrong, chatting about the day's events. They noticed him and smiled as he approached. “Hey Roy!” Falman said, “Nice job with the plan. I can’t believe it went off without a hitch, particularly with those gaurd we weren’t expecting. No one got injured either!”  
“Yeah, we were thinking about heading out to the bar tomorrow to celebrate,” Breda said, “Come on, what do ya say?”  
Roy smiled but shook his head no. “Sorry, but I’m afraid tomorrow night won’t work,” he said, “I’m busy.” He was busy, but at the same time he was celebrating in his own right. He was planning on taking the boys out to the theater for the first time to see a comedy play.  
Everyone except Hughes looked disappointed. Roy’s team gave out an annoyed and exasperated groan. “Aw come on, Mustang!” Havoc complained, “You’ve been brushing us off like this for almost an entire year! And I know you’re not that busy because you keep taking off from work earlier than the rest of us, and you won’t even tell us what you’re leaving early for!”  
“Indeed Colonel,” Major Armstrong said crossing his arms, “I have also noticed how distant you’ve been with your subordinates. Surely you can makes some time to spend with them.”  
“Now, Now, I’m sure he has his reasons,” Hughes tried to interject.  
“Like going on dates?” Fuery said crossing his arms, “I saw the play tickets on your desk today....Though why you have an extra one is beyond me.”  
“Wait, does that mean you got two girls to go with you on one date?!” Havoc questioned, “That's just not fair!”  
“Seriously, what's been going on with you?” Breda asked, “You’ve been acting pretty weird lately. You took that giant leave out of nowhere to Dublith of all places too. I mean I know that place is pretty, but I didn't think it was worth staying an entire month there.”  
Roy’s eyes darted between all the men in the group as each one spoke. “Enough!” he finally snapped. They all fell silent and Roy took a deep breath. “Fine,” he said, “if you all want to spend some time together and figure out what I’ve been up too, then how about you all come over to my house this weekend for dinner.”  
The group looked shocked, especially Hughes. “Really?” Falman asked.  
Roy smirked. “Sure!” he said,”Come this Saturday. I’ll have dinner prepared and everything. Be there by seven.” With that he turned and began to walk away.  
The men stared at him as he left. “...now I’m not sure if I want to know what he’s been up too,” Fuery said. The others nodded.  
….  
“You don’t think Roy wanted us to dress formally, do you?” Jean asked as he looked down at his short-sleeve shirt. The six men walked together down the street.  
“Nah,” Breda responded, “It’s not like this is a holiday party. I doubt formal attire is expected. Besides, even if it were, he’d be the odd one out, not us.”  
“True,” Havoc responded.  
Falman snickered slightly and Hughes just continued to smile. It had been a few weeks since he’d been able to see the boys. They were both so energetic and fun to be around, it made him a slightly jealous that Roy got to have kids first. Even though he was their unofficial godfather, he didn’t get to visit them as much as he liked.  
Falman noticed the skip in his step and spoke up. “You seem happy,” he noted, “What’s got you so excited? I know Roy’s your best friend but you do see him everyday.”  
Maes just smiled at him. “Oh, you’ll see!” he said with a wink. The rest of the group paused in their pace to stare at him in surprise.  
“You mean you knew this whole time what Roy’s been up to?!” Kain questioned.  
“Yup!” he responded.  
“Why didn’t you tell us?!” Havoc demanded.  
Hughes shrugged. “Roy wanted to tell you guys himself when he felt like it,” he explained.  
“But why leave us out of the loop?” Breda questioned, “What’s so important that he’d tell you and not us?”  
“Well, to be fair, he didn’t tell me, I just sortal figured it out,” Hughes responded, holding his hands up in defence.  
“Well then tell us!” Falman demanded.  
“Yes, tell us,” Armstong joined in, “Has he discovered a new technique for fire alchemy?”  
“Or some kind of crazy conspiracy?” Fuery asked.  
“He hasn’t gotten engaged, now has he?” Havoc asked.  
“Can’t tell you!” Maes responded, shaking his head, “Roy wants it to be a surprise.”  
“Jerk…” Havoc muttered as they approached the house. As they did so, they noticed something at the post by the stairs. A black cats was staring directly at the as it stood on the banister.  
“Aw Crap!” Breda said hiding behind Falman.  
“Breda, what's wrong?” Fuery asked.  
“Are you kidding me? It’s a black cat!” he said, “Everyone knows that black cats are bad luck.” The black cat seemed to hear this and hiss at him.  
“That’s just a myth, Breda,” Havoc said.  
“How do you know that?” he asked, “Have you ever had one cross your path? I’m telling you, those things are evil!” The cat hissed at him again, arching its back this time. It glared daggers at Breda. “See?” he said, “That cat is giving me the evil eye!”  
“How can it give you the evil eye? It's a cat!”  
“That's why it's evil, because it can glare at me!”  
“Kuro isn’t evil!” Hughes interjected, folding his arms, “He’s Roy’s pet.” The cat seemed to straighten up at that. “He can be a nuisance sometimes, but he isn’t evil,” he continued. Kuro glared at him.  
“See, he did it again! I’m telling ya, there’s something wrong with that cat! I can feel it in my gut!” Breda shouted, but was ignored.  
“Wait, Roy has a pet?” Falman questioned, “Since when?”  
“That wasn’t the big thing Roy’s been hiding from us, was it?” Havoc asked.  
“Breda, you shouldn’t be so quick to judge an animal for something it can’t help!” Armstrong chastised as he went to scoop up the cat. Kuro’s eyes widened as he tried to get away from the large man, but he was too slow. “Come on, let's get him inside with us,” he said as he held the squirming cat, “Poor thing must be scared being all alone out here.”  
“...There is a cat flap. He can come and go as he pleases…” Fuery pointed out but was ignored by Armstrong.  
His comment was forgotten, however, as they rung the doorbell. Roy answered the door and greeted them with a smile. “Come on in, you guys,” he said, “Glad you could make it.”  
“Glad you could have us,” Fuery responded.  
“Indeed! It’s a pleasure to be able to visit your humble abode!” Armstrong announced, extending an arm into the air for emphasis. This allowed Kuro to escape his death grip. He immediately jumped to the ground and hid behind Roy, who for once was feeling sorry for the demon cat.  
“It’s good to be over again!” Havoc said clapping Roy on the shoulder, “Man, it really has been a long time. I had no idea you had gotten a pet.”  
“Actually, I’ve only had him for about a month,” Roy explained.  
“I thought you didn’t like cats…” Falman noted.  
“To be honest, I’m not the biggest cat person,” he explained.  
The other men besides Hughes looked confused. “Then why did you keep him?” Fuery asked.  
“Well I found him as a stray in Dublith and was sort of pressured into keeping him,” he answered, “Anyways let’s get to dinner.”  
“Oh boy! I’m starving!” Havoc said, running over to the buffet where the meal was.  
“I don’t know what that is, but it smells delicious!” Breda noted.  
“It’s called Sukiyaki,” Roy said as he got everyone a little to try, “It’s an...Eastern dish.”  
“Aw, man! This is awesome!” Havoc said as he took a bite.  
“Yeah! I haven’t tasted anything like it!” Breda said as he scarfed down his portion.  
“Is this what you’ve been doing when you get off work early? Trying out new foreign dishes?” Falman asked, “Cause if you are, you need to bring some in to share, this is wonderful.”  
“Indeed!” Armstrong declared, “You must give the recipe to my chef, for it is simply divine! You really are an amazing cook. I had no idea you were so well versed in the culinary arts!”  
“Well, when you’re a master of fire, I guess you’re either really good or you burn everything!” Havoc joked.  
Roy chuckled and smirked. “Thank you, but I only helped prepare this dish,” he explained, causing them all to look confused. “If you want to meet the real masterminds behind it, I’ll gladly introduce you,” he said before turning towards the stairs. “Rin, Yukio, come down here!” he called.  
“Coming Dad!” two higher voices called. Roy’s four subordinates and Armstrong looked on in shock as two black haired, blue eyed boys came scampering down the stairs. They were all paralyzed in surprise, jaws agape.  
“Hey boys!” Hughes called cheerfully, pushing his way to the front of the group, “Awesome job at dinner! It tastes amazing!”  
“Uncle Hughes!” they both cried, rushing over to him and tackling him.  
“Ahah! Good to see you too!” He said as he scrambled back up from being entangled in the two eight year olds, “It’s been awhile hasn’t it? How have you been?”  
“Good!” they chimed.  
“How are you, Uncle Hughes?” Yukio asked.  
“Yeah, still weird as ever?” Rin added.  
“Let’s see,” he said, pretending to think, “I could show you two all the photos of Gracia in my wallet again.”  
Rin snickered at this. “Yup! You’re still weird!” he chirped.  
The other men were still completely dumbfounded. “Roy…?” Havock finally managed to say, turning towards the Colonel.  
“Men, these are my sons, Rin and Yukio,” he explained.  
“Yukio and Rin,” he said, getting their attention, “These are some friends of mine, Second Lieutenant Jean Havock, Sergeant Major Kain Fuery, Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda, Warrant Officer Vato Falman, and Major Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strongarm Alchemist.”  
“Hey, what’s up?” Rin chirped, standing up and sticking a hand out into the air.  
“It’s nice to meet you!” Yukio said.  
“I-it’s nice to meet you too!” Kain said as he kneeled down to shake hands with the boys.  
“Well I guess that explains why you leave so early every day….” Breda muttered.  
“Yeah, tell me about it….” Falman said.  
“Greetings, young ones!” Alex boomed, kneeling down infront of them. Both of them were startled, by him, Yukio deciding to hide behind his brother. “It is a pleasure to meet the progeny of my esteemed colleague!” he said grasping Rin’s hand and shaking it, and the boy in the process, “I can already see how much you take after your father. He must be so proud, especially with your culinary skills! I only wish I had gotten to know of you sooner! Though I am curious, if you don’t mind me asking who is your mother?”  
“Huh….?” Rin uttered, dizzy from the armstrong handshake. Hughes had to cover his mouth to stop himself from snickering a little.  
“Yeah, who is their mom?” Havoc asked, finally snapping out of shock, “I mean I figure she must be an old girlfriend of yours that tracked you down right?”  
“Is this like a shared thing? Do you get them part of the month with them and her the other half?” Breda asked.  
“Their mother is…deceased,” he explained. Causing everyone to fall silent.  
“Oh….” Fuery uttered.  
“…Man I’m sorry for asking,” Jean whispered, “Were you really close with her?”  
“Actually, I never met her,” Roy answered, “Rin and Yukio aren’t biologically mine, I adopted them last year.”  
“Ohhhhh…...wait what?!”  
Havoc and Breda burst out laughing. “You...Roy Mustang, the great flame alchemist…WILLINGLY adopted two little kids?!” Havock gasped, “Oh god, you’re kidding me, right?! What is this world coming to!”  
Rin glared at the pair of them. Armstrong frowned as well. “Gentlemen! Shame on you!” he snapped at them, causing them to stop laughing, “You shouldn’t be mocking Roy for feeling the need to have a family. It’s a completely natural desire! Why, I think it’s very noble of him to decide to adopt!” He clapped a hand on Roy’s shoulder, causing him to stumble.  
“Thank you, Alex,” Roy said, rubbing his shoulder, “But they do have a small point. I had not originally planned on adopting or having a family any time soon, it just sort of happened.” As the men besides Hughes once again shared confused glances, Roy spoke up again. “Let me get you guys some dinner first and then I’ll explain,” he said.  
….  
“So they were originally wards of this Shiro guy, who saved your life back in the day?” Breda summed up as he glanced back from where Hughes was playing with the boys.  
“Yup,” Roy said after swallowing a mouth full of food, “Their mother died in childbirth and their father...well let's just say I wouldn’t let him near children.”  
“And you said this Shiro guy isn’t from around here,” Falman asked, “So why did he ask you for help? If he couldn’t take care of them, it seems a bit of an extreme to send them to another country.”  
“Because the kids had nowhere else to go,” he said, “They couldn’t stay in their homeland. If they did, they’d surely die. Even if they found another person they could trust, it would only be a matter of time before they’d be found out again and have people after them once more.”  
“Wait…” Fuery said holding up a hand, worry and surprise clearly written on his face, “You said they’d die and that there were people after them. What do you mean by that? Is there some kind of bandit group after them? Did they escape from some kind of slavery?”  
“I mean they’d be executed,” Roy said, looking around at all the shocked faces around him. He could see the question in their eyes amidst the horror and disgust. “It all stems back to their father,” he explained, “Their father, who goes by the name of Satan, was a monster. He killed a lot of innocent people. He could wipe out entire cities if he pleased. As far as the people of their homeland are concerned, he is the root of all evil, and because they stem from that root, even though they never knew him, they fear those boys will do the same.”  
“Th-that’s horrible!” Jean said, clenching his fist.  
“Those boys…” Armstrong sobbed, streams of tears dramatically pouring down his face, “They’ve been through so much! How could someone treat a child that way!”  
“What about Shiro? Where is he now?” Falman asked.  
“From what I understand he’s got a life sentence in prison for harboring them and possibly conspiring with Satan, which he never did,” Roy explained, “He managed to get someone to let us know he was alright last month.”  
“At least he’s alive,” Breda breathed, “but it ain’t right! He doesn’t deserve to be in prison. Isn’t there anything that can be done? Why couldn’t he have come with ‘em?”  
Roy shook his head. “He doesn't want my help,” he responded, “I don’t know why he doesn’t want my help nor why he couldn't come with them, but I have a good guess. I think it was to protect the people who were helping him. If he’s still around he can claim full responsibility.”  
“That Shiro Fujimoto…” Alex declared, now standing up as tears continued to stream down his face, “Is a saint! He sacrificed so much for them when he owed them nothing! He was willing to give up his freedom for them, nay, he was willing to die for them! True unconditional love and affection like that cannot be measured!”  
Roy nodded. Though thinking about it made him slightly self conscious. He knew he could never match up to the kind of father Shiro was. Hell, he didn’t even consider himself a good parent period considering the fact that Rin nearly died twice in one day due to his bad judgement.  
“So why were you hiding them like this?” Havoc asked, “We could have helped you, you know? Why’d you just leave us in the dark?” The rest nodded in agreement.  
Roy sighed. He wasn’t looking forward to answering this question. “Well, it started out that I didn't quite know how to explain them,” he answered, “Then I realised I didn’t have all their legal documentation and didn’t want people knowing about them until I did, and once that was sorted out I had already found out about those Ishvalian Sympathizers and was worried that if I told people, eventually the wrong person might find out. I got so used to hiding them I just continued to do so without think about who I was hiding them from.”  
“I guess that makes sense…” Breda muttered.  
“Just don’t keep something like this from us again, alright?” Havoc said, “I understand you’ve gotta have your secrets, but this stuff isn’t something you need to keep from us.”  
Roy smiled and nodded.  
“Hey guys!” Hughes called from where he was sitting on the couch, “Yukio and Rin are going to show me something they learned recently in alchemy. You guys wanna see?”  
“You’re already teaching them alchemy?” Fuery asked, turning to him with a grin.  
“Yup,” Roy said, putting his plate away, “Yukio is studying bio alchemy and Rin is studying fire alchemy.”  
They all gave him shocked expressions. “Really?” Falman questioned, “Fire alchemy at this age?”  
“Yeah,” Roy scratched the back of his head, “The kid wouldn’t stop pestering me until I agreed. He’s actually quite good.”  
“Oh, I gotta see this then!” Breda said, practically jumping out of his seat.  
“Yes!” Armstrong exclaimed, striking a pose as he got up, “Let us see what your young wards have accomplished as they’ve followed in your footsteps! Then maybe I can show them the Armstrong family technique!”  
Roy sighed but smiled anyways as he got up and followed them to the living room.  
…  
The following week, the whole office had been abuzz with the news. Some could hardly believe it! Roy Mustang? A father? It was inconceivable! Every hour, there was someone in his office asking if the rumors were true. At first it was funny to see people stumble over their words to ask them the question, but as the week went on, it just became annoying. Finally he decided enough was enough. He’d lay all the rumors to rest by giving the most undeniable of confirmation.  
“You boys ready?” Roy asked as they stood at the front steps of central command. Rin was practically bouncing with anticipation, while Yukio held onto Roy’s hand nervously. Rin shook his head excitedly while Yukio gave a quick nod.  
“Alrighty then,” he said, starting to walk up the stairs. When they open the doors, the boys looked on in awe at the huge hall. Men and women in blue uniforms were scattered around, talking to one another. A few glanced at them.  
“Wow!” Rin breathed, “This place is huge!” Yukio nodded as he looked around in a similar state of awe.  
Roy smiled down at them, giving them an amused hum. “Come on,” he said, “I’ll give you guys the full tour.” He took them by the hands and lead them along.  
…  
“This is the investigations office,” Roy explained as he walked them down the narrow hall, “This is where Hughes works.”  
“Cool!” Rin cried, “Can we see him?”  
“I’m afraid now wouldn’t be a good time,” he said, “He’s probably busy at the moment. We can talk to him during lunch. Speaking of which, remember to keep your voices down around the offices. Many people are working hard around here, and don’t like being disturbed.”  
Rin nodded in understanding. They exited the hall quietly...only to have silence immediately disrupted. “COLONEL MUSTANG! YOUNG RIN AND YUKIO!” a very loud and boisterous voice called. All three nearly jumped of their skins as they saw Alex running down the hall with two subordinates in toe. “When I heard the rumor that you had brought your sons with you today, I was overjoyed, and decided I must find you at once to show my subordinates the lads! They’ve been dying to meet them!” He pulled Denny Brosh and Maria Ross in front of himself and they waved at them nervously.  
“Really it was only a mild curiosity,” Maria explained, “But it is nice to meet you! I’m Lieutenant Maria Ross.” She extended her hand out to them.  
“And I’m Sgt. Denny Brosh,” the young man beside her replied.  
“Cool! Nice to meet you,” Rin said, taking their hands.  
“So are you two State Alchemists too?” Yukio asked.  
Both chuckled. “No, we’re just regular soldiers,” Denny explained, “Why do you ask?”  
“Well…”  
“These two are becoming alchemists!” Armstrong explained, “You should see their handy work! Rin can produce the most beautiful blue flames I have ever scene. It brought a tear to my eye to witness their elegance. And Yukio can turn even the most foul poison ivy into the most beautiful rose! Truly magnificent!”  
“That’s enough Armstrong,” Roy said with a chuckle, “I think you’ve flattered them enough.”  
“Well they certainly are the most adorable alchemists I’ve seen,” Maria said, ruffling Rin’s hair. The boy scrunched up his face and scowled at her.  
“‘M not cute…” he grumbled crossing his arms.  
“Did I hear someone say alchemy?” a voice called from down the hall. They all turned to see General Raven walking down the hall. The tall tan man with a greying beard smiled at them as he made his way over to them.  
“General Raven!” Roy said, standing at attention. The rest of the military personnel did as well, saluting him. Rin and Yukio tried to salute him too, but Rin got his backwards.  
“At ease!” Raven said chuckling, “there’s no need for all that!” “I was walking down the hall when I heard all the commotion,” he said, “Now what’s this talk of alchemy?”  
“We’re learning it, Sir,” Yukio said, “My name is Yukio and this is Rin. My brother and I have been spending the last year learning how to perform alchemy. I’ve been studying bio alchemy.”  
“And I’ve been studying fire alchemy!” Rin exclaimed.  
“Oh, is that so?” he said, crouching down to their level, “That sounds pretty interesting! I’d love to see it sometime.”  
“I can show you!” Rin said pulling out his gloves.  
Roy looked shocked. “Rin! I thought I told you to leave those at home!” he exclaimed.  
“You did?” Rin blinked in confusion, “Woops…can I still show general Raven my stuff?” Roy sighed and ran a hand down his face before nodding. Rin smiled and finished pulling on his gloves. He held his hand out away from the old general and snapped his fingers. A small plume of blue flames hovered over his hand for a second.  
“Wow!” the general said, clapping, “That was wonderful!”  
“I told you it was breathtaking!” Armstrong said to his subordinates.  
Rin’s eyes sparkled at his praise. “You really think so?” he said.  
“Yeah!” Raven replied, “I’m no alchemist, but I still think that’s quite an interesting feat! I don’t think even your father can even produce blue flames. One day, you could become a wonderful state alchemist if you keep working.”  
Rin’s eyes widened in delight. Roy frowned at this. “Maybe,” he interjected tersely, “But he’s far too young right now.”  
“Agreed,” the general said, hopping up, “Well, I better get going. See you around!”  
After they watched him walk away, Roy led they two boys away, still unhappy about what the general had suggested.  
…  
The three continued their tour for a few more hours. It was almost lunch now. “And this is the communication center,” he said, “this is where we-”  
“Colonel Mustang!” an angry voice interrupted him. Roy sighed as he recognized it. They all turned to see a tall, bald man with a large mustache.  
Yukio scooted behind Roy and Rin gave a confused look. “Who is that guy?” he asked.  
“That is Brigadier General Basque Grand, the Iron Blood Alchemist,” Roy responded. “Yes, sir. What can I do for you?” he as the man as he approached.  
“I’d like to know what the meaning of this is!” the tall man shouted, scaring Yukio further, “Why have you brought two children with you to work?”  
“These are my sons, Sir, I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors,” Roy explained, “I was showing them around the office and introducing them to my co workers.”  
“This isn’t a daycare, Mustang!” The general snapped,”they shouldn't be here.”  
“I know that, Sir, but-”  
“No buts!” he cut Mustang off, “I want you to take these boys home as soon as possible! They’re disturbing our workers.”  
“Now calm down, Basque,” a calm, deep voice said behind them. All four people turned to see the Fuhrer standing beside them. His black hair was slicked back and a smile was playing on his wrinkled face. “There’s no need to send them home,” he said.  
“Fuhrer Bradley!” Roy said, snapping to attention, but the man waved him off.  
“I know how important a child can be to their parent, what with my own recent adoption of Seliem,” he said, “They need to spend time together, and showing a child where their parent works can be a wonderful bonding experience. I know I have a date planned out to show my boy around the office! Why don’t you let him off the hook just this once.”  
The general narrowed his eyes before nodding and leaving, grumbling as he did so. “Thank you, sir,” Roy said.  
“Oh it’s no trouble at all!” Bradly said, still smiling. He then leaned down to get a good look at the boys. “It’s nice to finally meet them. I’ve heard a lot about them,” he said.  
He held out a hand for for them to shake. “Hi,” Yukio said taking his hand, “I’m Yukio sir, and this is my brother Rin.”  
“Nice to meet you!” the Fuhrer responded before holding his hand out to Rin. “You too,” he said.  
Rin didn’t take it. He didn’t even smile at him, he just stared. “Rin!” Roy hissed. The boy still didn’t move.  
The Fuhrer chuckled. “He’s a shy one, now isn’t he?” he asked in amusement as he stood up.  
“I’m sorry, he’s not usually like this,” Roy responded.  
“That's alright,” he said, “I’m used to little ones being a little uneasy around me. It can be a bit overwhelming for them to be in the same room as the most powerful man in the country.” Roy nodded a thank you. “Though I do wonder, how long have you had these boys?” he asked.  
“A little over a year and a half, sir,” Roy answered.  
“I see…” he said, “I’m a little curious as to why I haven’t heard about them until now. With all the fanfare, you think you would have just adopted them.”  
“Sorry, Sir,” he said, “But with the recent ring of assailants running around attacking military personnel, I didn’t want to run the risk of putting them in the line of fire if there was someone working on the inside. You know what they say. Loose lips sink ships!”  
The Fuhrer nodded. “Very well then,” he said as he turned to leave, “Have a nice day you three. I hope to see you around again!”  
Roy nodded and smiled before turning to Rin with a small frown. “What was up with you?” he asked, “You wouldn’t even say hi to the man. Don’t you realize how rude that looks.”  
“I’m sorry…” Rin said, looking away, “It’s just...there was something off about him, like it felt weird to be around him.”  
Yukio cocked his head to the side. “How so?” he asked.  
Rin shrugged. “I dunno…” he said, “It was just...weird…”  
“Hmmm…” Roy uttered. He had no idea what was up with the boy, but whatever it was couldn’t be good. Rin didn’t get scared of people easily. Still he knew the Fuhrer was a good man. Maybe it was the eyepatch that freaked him out… “Let’s not dwell on it,” he said, grabbing their hands, “Come on. Let's get some lunch. The cafeteria is this way.”  
….  
Bradley sat at his desk and stared at the files again, his ultimate eye studying every detail. He frowned as he felt like setting the papers alite. There were no signs of forgery. The documents all looked very real and official, right down to the wax seal on the side. He ran a hand down his face, flipping his eyepatch back down over his eye and growled. This was impossible! He spent months trying to find a mistake, but their were none. They looked as real as any other in the entire library, but they had just appeared out of nowhere!  
Suddenly the door clicked as it began to open. A man in uniform stepped into the room. The fuhrer tried to shuffle the papers underneath more when the stranger spoke up. “Relax, Wrath, it’s me!” the figure’s tall redhaired form suddenly dissipated and instead stood a lithe, androgynous teenager with long, wilted, palm-fan black hair in a crop top and skort.  
“Hello Envy,” Bradley replied, “What brings you here?”  
“I found out something interesting about one of the boys,” the homunculus said, “Apparently, the one named Rin is learning flame alchemy now.”  
“Oh?” he said, “I suppose that must be why Roy left with them to Dublith then...Do you think he’ll be interested in becoming a state alchemist.”  
“No idea yet, but he certainly isn’t against it,” Envy responded, crossing his arms, “Father is considering him possibly taking Mustang’s place as a candidate, but…”  
“But what?” Bradley said.  
“But after what Pride said, he’s wondering if he’ll be more of a threat than an asset,” Envy responded, “That white man in a suit that brought them here was able to touch Pride! No one can do that, it’s impossible! Then he just disappeared into thin air like a stage magician. It’s like he’s a philosopher’s stone of physics! He just throws the rules right out the window!” “And that’s not even the weirdest thing! Did you know there was a ring that extended all the way around the house that Pride couldn’t enter through until the guy was gone?!” the homunculus shrieked, “How does he even do that?! And now there’s that freaky cat chimera thing he left that patrols the area. What even is that thing? Is it part goat? Is it two cats fused together? I don’t know! But it tried to tear my throat out when I last got near their house!” Envy growled and punched the book shelf closest to him. The wood shattered and it started caving into the side. “I really hate this guy...it’s like he’s toying with us! He shouldn’t be toying with us! It’s my job to toy with people!” he said, “If it’s true that guy is a shapeshifter too, I’m going to rip his head off for copying me!”  
“I know what you mean. I think these random forums for the boys that just appeared on record may have his name written all over them,” he said, glaring at the papers, “So what’s the plan now?”  
Envy sighed. “I wanted to kill the little bastards before they could do us any harm,” he said, “But father wants us to continue waiting and watching them until further notice. He thinks that even if they can’t be candidates, they might still be useful.”  
Bradley nodded. “Then business as usual I guess,” he said, picking up the papers and heading for the door, “Let me know if you find out anything new about them.” Envy nodded before shap shifting back and heading out the door.


	14. The cirlce game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, just so you know, while I am following the plot of brotherhood, I will be including aspects of the first series early on because I happen to enjoy the early episodes of the 2003 series a little more. I'll probably stop adding things from 2003 before the fifth labratory and just go with brotherhood from there minus any changes made for the plot of the story itself. Anyways, enjoy!

Roy pulled out article after article of clothing as he looked for his spare waist capes. Two of them had ripped recently due to a few missions he'd gone on and he'd forgotten to get them tailored. Where had they gone? He knew he had them somewhere, they had to be.

Roy stood up from his closet and walked out into the hall. He scratched his head as he walked down the hall to the staircase. Maybe he left them in the laundry room….

He stopped however, as he passed the boy's room. He heard snickering. "Oh no," he thought, "That's never a good sign." He opened the door to the nine year olds' room to find them wearing his waist capes around their necks.

"You'll never defeat me, Basque Grand, you traitor!" Rin cried, "I the great flame alchemist, can stop you in your tracks!"

"You'll never defeat me!" Yukio cried, firing his pop gun. Rin jumped to the side and snapped his gloveless fingers. Yukio cried out in an over dramatic fashion and fell to the ground. Both boys started laughing before they caught sight of Roy standing in the doorway and immediately stopped. Both looked like deer caught in headlights.

"Uuhhhh….How long have you been standing there?" Rin asked, clearly embarrassed.

"Since 'Basque Grand, your traitor'," he said. There was a long, painfully awkward silence between them. "Would one of you be willing to give me one of my waist capes back?" he asked.

Yukio immediately pulled off the cape before throwing it to him."Sorry for borrowing it without permission…" he said, slightly embarassed.

"No, no, it's fine," Roy said, "I expected...something like this to happen at some point. You kids keep having fun." With that he left them alone and headed down stairs. He paused at the last step. He didn't know whether to feel flattered that they admired him enough to emulate him in a game of play pretend or worried that they think that his job was some kind of superhero gig. After a few moments of contemplation he decided on a healthy mix of both.

….

Before the boys came into his life, Roy really had no reason to like winter. It was dark, cold, and he always caught a horrible cold at least once per month. Now, however, he had something to look forward to: December the 27th. It warmed his heart to see the boys so excited, and now that they weren't a secret anymore, he could invite more people and have a true party, almost as big as Maes' New Years celebration.

He watched with a smile on his face as the two boys blew out their candles. There was a round of applauds as they officially turned ten years old. Mountains of presents surrounded them on the table from his coworkers.

In the two years they had gotten to know the boys, Roy's team had grown extremely attached to them. Fuery and Falman loved having Yukio around. They were constantly teaching him new things like morse code, different kinds of ciphers for code breaking, and how to use a ham radio. In fact, Roy was pretty sure one of the presents was a ham radio. Rin had also gotten really close to the guys, particularly Breda and Havock, despite Rin constantly pestering Jean about his smoking addiction. They took him to boxing matches and taught him how to play poker among other things. And Armstrong practically spoiled them rotten. The pair of twins quickly figured out how to get him wrapped around their finger by listening to his rambling speeches and pretending to be interested (although a few times he knew Rin actually found some of his stories interesting). Riza loved them just as much as the guys, though she may not express it as much. Roy knew that if they boys were in danger, she would lay down her life for them. They all would, and so would he.

As the boys unwrapped their presents, Roy couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. An internal debate was going on in his mind as he glanced over at the closet where one last present was stored. He was debating whether to give it to them tonight after everyone left or tomorrow. Inside were two copies of the demon manual he had been given and the book of verses he'd been given. The previous month a strange article came up in a newsletter about a bizarre death that nearly made Roy's heart stop. A woman had been mauled to death outside of Central. Police could not find any evidence of what did it, but another woman who had escaped had claimed it was a large, three-headed dog that had come out of nowhere. The police dubbed as a chimera, but Roy knew better. It was a cerberus.

He wanted to make sure the boys were safe, so he wanted them to have these on them at all times. At some point, he might not be around or they won't be able to summon Kuro and if so, they need something to protect them. At the same time, he didn't want to disrupt their good moods. He had meant to have these finished the previous week, but there were delays and he had only gotten it done the night before.

"Aw, sweet!" Rin cried, catching Roy's attention. He looked back over to see Rin had unwrapped the the adventure novels he had gotten him. They were the latest instalments of the Heissgart James treasure hunter series. Meanwhile, Yukio had opened up a collection of his favorite detective novels, The Smoking Pipe Inspector. Their eyes shined with excitement as they eyed the backs of the books. "Thanks Dad!" he cheered, "You're the best!"

Roy smiled. Maybe their other gift should wait for tomorrow.

….

"I told you! I already called dibs!"

"Just because you call dibs doesn't mean you get the position!"

"What do you know Yukio? You've never done this before either!"

"Maes, will you please help me out here?!" Roy shouted over them as he continued to try and keep the ten year olds from fighting. Hughes glanced over at his best friend, who looked extremely disheveled and annoyed. He was dumbstruck for a second. He had never seen the twins fight this bad! Granted, every wedding needed some drama. At least it was over something simple like who gets to be ring bearer instead of something worse. When Maes shook himself from his surprise, the first thing he did was chuckle at his very agitated best man and his situation. He was sandwiched between two squabbling boys desperately trying to keep them apart.

"Hughes…." He growled.

"Alright, fine!" he said, walking over to them, "Ok, boys I'm here to settle this!" "Only one person can be the ring bearer, and I'm going to tell you who," he said. The boys immediately stopped fighting and stood at attention. "The person who get's to be ring bearer is…." he said, "Gracia's four year old nephew Tyler!"

Both boys looked crushed. "But...what about us!" Rin cried.

"That's what you get for squabbling!" Roy said, with a slight smirk. Both boys bowed their heads in defeat.

"Aw Maaaan!" Rin whined.

"I guess we were being pretty immature about it…" Yukio muttered.

"Actually," Maes interjected, "I made Tyler ring bearer because you two were going to be groomsmen."

The boys suddenly perked up and Roy was taken aback in surprise.

"Really?" Rin squeaked.

"You're serious?" Yukio added.

"Please tell me you're joking…" Roy said.

Maes shook his head no. "I'm completely serious! You two better get a move on to the dressing room so you can get fixed up," he said.

The two cheered and Roy groaned as he held his head in his hand. Once they had run off he glared at Hughes. "If they screw something up, you'll only have yourself to blame, you know that?" he said.

Maes just smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "Understood, chief!" he said. Roy nodded and stalked off to the dressing room to help them. This was going to be a long day.

….

Riza was definitely not anyone's go to babysitter by any means. She wasn't traditionally motherly and usually much too strict for young kids. Plus her house was full of guns. Most parents would shy away from leaving their kids with someone like that. But when Roy had a special flame alchemy training session planned with Rin and forgot that the Hugheses were still on honeymoon, she was there to act as a substitute for Yukio.

She watched as the preteen wandered around her house looking at her collection of weaponry. It was funny, but neither of the boys had really spent much time at her house. She mostly came over to Roy's to see them. Now that Yukio was at her place she could see a whole new side to the boy. She knew he was inquisitive, but she never expected him to be so curious, particularly about her machinery. As he looked at all her cases he continuously asked questions. With everyone she answered, he seemed to have ten more...but that wasn't a bad thing. She very much enjoyed answering his questions.

"What's this one?" he asked.

"That's a single action revolver," she replied.

"And this one?"

"That's a double action revolver."

He looked up at her in confusion. "What's the difference between the two?" he asked.

She smiled. "Well you see, a single action revolver requires a separate movement to change the position of the chamber," she explained, "a double action revolver moves the chamber as the trigger is released." He nodded in understanding.

At some point the subject changed, and he started asking different kinds of questions. "Hey Riza? Does flame alchemy ever stop working?" he asked.

She blinked at him in surprise. "In a way yes," she said, "When the colonel gets his gloves wet he can't make a spark with them. Why do you ask?"

"Well...I was thinking...what if something bad happened and that happened to Rin," he said, "Who would be there to help him?" "Dad always talks about how the world is a dangerous place. But he also talks about how you've always had his back and how you protect him when he can't," he said, "but what about Rin? What if he gets in trouble like that? Who's going to be there for him?"

Riza paused to look at him. "Yukio," she said, "Are you asking me if I can teach you how to shoot?"

The boy looked down at the ground before nodding. "I've been worried about Rin ever since he ran away that day...he almost got killed," he said, "I know he can defend himself now, but what if he can't at some point...and what about me? I can't exactly use plants to defend myself." "Dad and Rin always seem busy with studying their flame alchemy...and I just feel like dead weight sometimes cause I'm the only one who can't defend themselves with much more than my fists. There's nothing I can do to protect myself that Rin can't do already," he said, "I don't like that feeling. I want to be helpful."

"Yukio…," she said, "You aren't dead weight and you are helpful. Roy loves and cares for you very much. But if you want, I would be willing to to teach you how to shoot properly. Would that make you feel better?" The boy nodded. "Alright," she said, "We'll let Roy know about this when he gets back, alright?"

…

Roy felt trapped. He tried his might to find something good as he flipped through the documents, but he found nothing of interest. He had been assigned to find alchemists to take the state alchemist exam. Very few had been interested in recent years due to the difficult of it, plus the disfavor the military had fallen into among alchemists. Most of what was left was garbage. Punks desperate for fame that could do little more than draw a chalk circle on the ground. Roy groaned and rubbed his temples. He only had a few more weeks to find someone before he got written up. His head thumped against the table. "Ow." he said dully. He didn't know why he thought doing that would help. He needed a break and soon...or a miracle.

"Cheer up dad, because your prayers have been answered!" he suddenly heard his son burst into his room. He sat up straight in his chair and pulled a piece of paper that had stuck to his forehead off of his face to look at him. "Ok so I know how you've had trouble finding a person to become a state alchemist?" he said, "Well I've got the solution to your problem!"

"What is it?" Roy said, leaning back into his chair.

"I become a state alche-"

"No!" Roy's reaction was so sudden and forceful that it startled the eleven year old. "Absolutely not!" Roy added.

Confusion and surprise filled the boy's eyes. "What? Aw, come on!" Rin said, "What's wrong with my idea? We could work side by side, stopping corrupt alchemists, protecting the people of Amestris-"

"Or you could get yourself killed!" Roy snapped, "You do realise you could get shoved off to the frontlines at any time if you become a state alchemist?"

"Yes, and I would be protecting the people of this country while doing so," he said, "And besides, it could be years before the next war could break out! I could be in my late twenties by the time I get called to arms!"

"Or it could be the very next day after your exam!" Roy snapped. His heart was beating a mile a minute with fear and anger. How could he even think about something like this? Didn't he know how dangerous being a state alchemist was? How easily they could turn him into a weapon? For a moment, the headline "Rin Mustang, Hero of Creta" flashed in his mind, the picture on the front showing Rin with the same sunken eyes he had not too long ago. The eyes of a killer. "You're too young and too inexperienced to be even considering this right now," he said in a low voice, "Now you're going to drop the subject and go back to your room to work on your homework."

"But-"

"My decision is final!" Roy stated through clenched teeth, pointing out of the room.

Hurt and betrayal flashed in Rin's eyes before they steeled with anger. "Fine!" he snapped, "I'll go. But I was just trying to help, you jerk!" With that, he stormed off. A few seconds later, Roy heard a loud crack along with a crumbling noise and muffled cursing. He groaned and rubbed his temples. Looks like Rin had kicked in the drywall...again.

Roy continued to flip listlessly through the pages of B grade alchemists, when something caught his eye: the two names Edward and Alphonse Elric. He looked at their page a bit more. The brothers were from Risembool and it stated here they were both thirty one. As he continued reading, he smiled. Perfect.

….

Roy sighed as he stared at the house in front of him. The universe just loved to make him a horrible person, now didn't it? Not a day after telling his eleven year old son he was too young to be a state alchemist, he had gone off to recruit two prodigies...only to find out they were eleven and ten themselves. Roy sighed. Well, they came out here. He might as well give the spiel and then go home to wallow in his new status as a hypocrite.

"Hello?" he called as he knocked on the door. It swung open from the light tap. "It's empty," Riza said.

"I don't think so," Roy responded, narrowing his eyes. He could feel that something in there, but he didn't know what. "You check upstairs I'll get downstairs." She nodded and headed off.

Roy walked downstairs as carefully as he could. As he did so, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched, as he was just about to reach the last step, something jumped him from behind. He tumbled down and rolled over as the thing bit into his arm. He couldn't see what it was at first, but he boxed it in where he thought it's nose ought to be and flung it off. He quickly snapped his finger, setting onfire the nearest flammable object to get a good look. When he did, he wished he hadn't. It was a hobgoblin. A big one at that. Roy was quick to act. He pulled out a holy water grenade from his pocket and flung it at the demon. It hissed and sizzled as the water bomb exploded before finally melting away. Roy breathed a sigh of relief...that is until he felt a tickle at the back of his neck. He swatted at it and pulled away to find the remains of some kind of moth. Black smoke was rising from it. He stared at in confusion for a second before his eyes widened in realization. Chuchi. Blood sucking, parasitic demons. Their larvae were known to feed off the central nervous system. He rubbed the back of his neck. He felt no bite marks, but that didn't comfort him. He had to be sure. He pulled out his flashlight to examine the room, because he remembered something very specific about these demons from what he read:

"Where there's one chuchi…"

Roy shown it over the floor. He groaned. Just as he suspected. Human transmutation circle. He sighed and closed his eyes as he slowly tilted the light upward, trying to convince himself that noise was only a shower that had been left on up stairs or an impossible amount of squirrels running on the roof. He peaked his eye open and immediately regretted it.

"...There are THOUSANDS more!"

Roy immediately snapped his fingers and set as many on fire as possible as he doused his flashlight and stumbled up the stairs. "RIZA!" he shouted. He prayed that she was ok. He had no idea if there had been more upstairs. He breathed a sigh of relief as he heard her run down stairs.

"Sir are you alright?" She asked, worry clear in her eyes.

"I'm fine but we need to-"

"Roy your arm is bleeding! What happ-"

"It's fine but we need to get out of here!"

"What about the boys?"

"They aren't here! Now we need to go!"

"Why?"

"BECAUSE I SET THE GODDAMN BASEMENT ON FIRE!"

"WHAT?!"

Roy glanced back at the basement and heard the swarm start to move. The thought of thousands of tiny wings flapping at once never seemed so scary. There was no more time to waste. He grabbed her arm and dragged her out of there with the swarm chasing them. He wouldn't stop running even after she started to protest. Only once he glanced over his shoulder and saw the swarm had dissipated into the night did he stop.

"Ok...I think we're safe now…" he panted, hands on knees. As he caught his breath, Riza took this opportunity to smack him upside the head. "WHAT THE HELL?!" she snapped, "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"Save your life?"

"No you idiot!" she shouted, "Set the basement on fire! Have you lost your mind?!"

"From your perspective, probably," he muttered to himself as he rubbed his head. "Uhh...a rat bit me," he explained, holding up an injured arm, "and I snapped my fingers at it setting it a light. It then promptly ran over to a bookcase and caught it on fire."

Riza ran a hand down her face. "Why do I put up with you?" she questioned.

"Because you can't stand to be without me?" he answered with a smirk. This earned him another slap.

"Let's find someone to stitch you up and call the fire department…" she said with a sigh as she walked away, "Then we'll look for the boys elsewhere."

…

Rin was furious. Absolutely livid. He stormed through Central command glaring daggers and shoving aside anyone who got in his way. He had one purpose here and he wasn't going to have anyone stop him. He kicked open to doors to the office of Colonel Mustang and all eyes were on him. Roy internally groaned as he saw the twelve year old. He knew this was going to happen. Why did it have to happen here though. "You bastard!" he shouted, anger and betrayal thick in his voice as he marched towards him, paper clutched in hand, "How could you! You hypocrite!"

"Rin, can we please do this else where," Roy said, "This is not a good time-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP ASSHOLE!" he barked, causing some gasps from the office workers. "You goddamn liar! How could you do this?" he said, shoving the piece of newsprint in Roy's face. He didn't need to see the article he already knew it was about the Elrics. "You won't let your son be a state alchemist, but you let these two instead? What the hell! One is younger than me!" the boy shrieked.

"I wasn't aware of their age at the time, there had been a misprint of the forum," he said, "and I wasn't 'letting' them join the military. I was required to inform them of their opportunity. Nothing more."

"Stop trying to beat around the bush, jerk!" he said, "You condoned this and that's the point! So what is it? Huh? What the hell is so great about these two that makes them better than me?! What is so different about us that makes you not want me to become a state alchemist?"

There was a lot Roy wished he could say. He wanted to explain everything but he couldn't. Not here, not in front of everyone. He couldn't do that to Ed and Al.

"Well?"

Because they've already seen hell and you haven't.

Because they're desperate and you're not.

Because they've lost everything and you haven't.

Because they're out of options and you still have a bright future ahead.

Because they don't have a choice and you do.

Because they lost their bodies in human transmutation and now have to find a way to fix it!

"ANSWER ME BASTARD!" he screeched.

"Because you're my son and they aren't," Roy snapped, "I don't want to see them hurt or in war any more than I want to see you, but I'm not their parent. I can't decide what's right for them! But I do have a say with you! And I say you aren't ready for military life!"

"BULLSHIT!" he yelled, slamming a fist into a desk, causing it to splinter. More gasps. "You could have told them no! You could have kept your precious morals and said you couldn't find them! But no! You didn't!" he snapped. Roy and Rin stared eachother down, the boy panting. Havock tried to calm him down, but one glare from the twelve year old sent him running with his tail between his legs. "You're wrong, you know that?" he said voice shaking slightly, "I am ready! I'm as ready as either of those boys! And you know what else you're wrong about?" "You can't tell me what to do!" he shouted at him. He then turned on his heels and stormed out.

Roy's heart ached as he slammed the door behind him. This boiled over with a multitude of of other emotions fighting for dominance at the moment: anger, sadness, guilt, annoyance, humiliation, frustration… He felt like storming out himself.

"Sir?" Hawkeye said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I need to be alone for a while," he said through clenched teeth. His arms were shaking with emotion. Everyone moved out of the way as he walked back to his office. He slammed the door behind him, smacked his lamp of the the desk, and slumped in his seat, lying face down on his desk. He let out an undecipherable string of curses and angry noises and he pulled on own hair. Why did this boy have to be so difficult?!

…

As Rin marched down the hall of central command, he realised something: he wasn't angry at the Elric brothers. Looking over the article again, how could he be? They saved all those people's lives on that train. They were awesome!...But he just wanted his dad to see that he was awesome too. He wasn't an idiot. He knew that between him and his brother, he was the incompetent one. The problem child. He had always been. It didn't matter which universe he was in. He noticed how people react when they find out that he's the one studying fire alchemy and not Yukio. He knows how strangers will compliment Yukio to no end on his good behavior, but will continuously remind himself not to slouch or straighten his tie. He knows that Roy gets more frustrated with him than Yukio. To everyone else he is the underachiever and Yukio is the genius. That's how it's always been.

And because of this he knew the real reason why Roy didn't want him taking the exam: because he doesn't think he's capable of it. He doesn't think he can pass the exam, and if by some miracle he can, then he'll crack under pressure of regular military life. Well screw him! He'll show the colonel what for!

Rin pushed open the doors to General Raven's office and put on his best smile. "Hello, General, Sir!" Rin said saluting him.

"Ah, Rin!" he said, looking up from his paperwork, "It's good to see you. How's your brother?"

"He's good!" Rin responded, "Hey I have a favor to ask of you."

"Sure! What is it?" the older general said, smiling at him.

"I was wondering if you could sign me up for the State Alchemist Exam next year," he said, cheerfully.

The man gawked at him, eyes wide in surprise. "Are you sure? You seem a little young...why don't you wait a few years?" he said.

"Please?" Rin said giving his best pleading look, "I just really want to help serve this nation. And if you don't think I'll succeed as a state alchemist, then I probably won't pass the exam anyways!"

General Raven glanced over Rin's shoulder for a moment before responding. "I guess you have a point…" he said, "Alright, I'll recommend you."

Rin pumped his fist in the air for joy. "Thank you so much!" Rin said, shaking his hand.

"You're welcome, kid!" the general said, chuckling. Rin then turned to leave, but stopped himself. "Oh, and by the way...can you not tell my dad about this?" he asked, "I kinda want it to be a surprise if I pass. Like a present of sorts. And if I fail I don't want him to be disappointed."

"I….suppose that's alright…" he responded.

Rin smiled at him. "Thanks!" he called before leaving. As he did so, his grin turned into a smirk. "All according to plan…" he thought.

The blonde secretary that had sat across the room from Raven looked up from her work to watch Rin leave. She grinned an evil grin as she did so. "All according to plan…" Envy thought.


	15. At the Library

It had been a week since Edward and Alphonse had gotten to Central and registered for the state alchemy exam in the spring. They heard it was hard, but both were ready to work themselves to the bone to make sure they could pass. They had the books, they had the motivation…but was it too much to ask for a place to read in peace?!  
They couldn’t stay at Shou Tucker’s this afternoon. He had his own assessment to work on, and because of all the noise of the animals he had brought in, they couldn’t find anywhere quiet.  
They first tried to go to the national library...but they found that they couldn’t study there because only state alchemists were allowed. They tried a few other places around town, but couldn’t find anywhere quiet enough with enough room to read their books. Finally, they found a little library located near a cafe. It wasn’t much, but it would do...or so they thought.  
Little did they know that not a half hour after they arrived, some kid would show up with a smoothie and start reading half of the book he was looking at aloud.   
“Sodium Phosphate….covalently bonded to….pentose sugars including ribose and…”  
Ed’s eye twitched with every word the boy uttered. Didn’t he know this was a library?! He was supposed to be quiet, not spew garbled chemistry notes every five seconds.  
“The array causes air bubbles to form….changing the chemical make up through photon beams from the sun….”  
His automail fist started to clench. If that kid didn’t shut up he was going to give him a piece of his mind. “Brother,” Alphonse whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Please calm down. He’s not trying to bother us!”  
“It doesn’t matter if he’s trying to or not, he is!” Ed hissed, “This isn’t fair! We searched all over town for a place to study and now this asshole shows up and ruins it! If we lose a whole day of study thanks to him, then I’m gonna-”  
“Brother wait!” Alphonse said, clasping a gauntlet over his brother’s mouth. “Do you hear that?” he said. There was no sound. They both turned to see that the boy was now chewing on his pencil, a look of deep concentration on his face before he went to write something down.  
Edward breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness he stopped!” he whispered. They both turned back to their books to continue their studying. They had each gotten through about a half a page more before-  
SLUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRPPP!  
They both turned to see the boy trying to get the remaining fourth of slushy liquid out of his cup. Just as he was about to try again, Edward stood up, marched over to him and grabbed the paper cup from his hand. The black haired blue eyed boy blinked for a second in surprise before looking up. “Hey!” he cried, angrily.  
Edward glared down at him, as if trying to set fire to him with his mind. “Do you MIND?!” he growled between clenched teeth, crushing the cup. His rage was barely contained.  
“That was my drink you jerk!” the boy cried, standing up and challenging Edward’s glare, “I paid 200 cenz for that!”   
“Yeah? Well some of us are trying to study!” Edward snapped at the taller boy, “our exam is a little bit more important than your drink and your constant muttering!”  
“Hey! I’m trying to study too!” he retorted, “It’s not my fault I learn best through verbal repetition! I can’t study many other ways, it’ll just go through one ear and out the other!”  
“Well then find somewhere else to study! Our exam is more important! We have to take the state alchemist exam!” Edward yelled.  
The boy paused and blinked at him in confusion. “...Wait…,” he said, “...You’re taking the State Alchemist Exam too?!” Ed blinked in response. He had no idea there was another kid trying to take the exam! The kid suddenly gasped. “Oh! I know who you are!” he said, pointing to the blond excitedly, “The red coat, the blond braid, you’re that kid from the train that saved that general! Edward Elric!”  
“Thats right…” Edward muttered, “How did you know that?”  
“And you must be his younger brother!” the boy continued, looking over his shoulder at the suit of armor, “What was it again? Alfred? Albert? Alfredo?”  
“Alphonse,” the boy in the suit corrected gently.  
“Oh yeah that’s it!” he said, snapping his fingers, “Man, this is cool! What are the odds of meet you guys in person in a place like this?”  
“Wait, how do you know about us?!” Edward asked, looking him over suspiciously.  
“My dad’s in the military,” he explained with a shrug, “Really this is pretty cool. You guys are like heros! And I guess they were right about you two. The younger one really is taller!”  
A vein pulsed on Ed’s head and he began to see red. If it could, steam would be pouring from his ears right now. “WHO ARE YOU CALLING SH-”  
“I guess I’m one to talk though,” the boy said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, “Seeing as my little bro is still the taller out of the two of us.”  
“Wait what?” Edward said, immediately deflating as he processed what was being said.  
“Hmm? Oh, you see my little brother Yukio’s got about two or more inches on me right now,” the kid explained, “It’s usually not so bad, but I’m usually the shortest one in the room so the guys in my dad’s office like to to pick on me for it.”  
Ed stared at him intently for a moment, a deadpanned expression plastered on his face. “Finally, someone who understands my pain…” he whispered.  
“What?”  
“Nothing!” Edward brushed it off chuckling nervously, a look of embarrassment on his face.  
“Ok then...?” the boy said, look at him weird.   
“So what’s your name?” Alphonse asked him.   
The boy turned to him and smiled. “My name’s Rin!” he said, holding out his hand.  
“It’s nice to meet you Rin!” Alphonse said taking his hand.  
“Yeah,” Edward said, sighing as he glanced at the clock. It was now a quarter past five. “But we should probably get going,” he said.  
“Huh?” Alphonse squeaked, “But brother, why?”  
“We both won’t be able to study in the same place if he has to mutter all the time,” he said, “Besides, Tucker’s probably done with whatever experiment he’s been working on.”  
“Ok…” Alphonse sighed, “See ya Rin.”  
“Wait!” the boy cried, “You don’t have to leave!” The two brothers shared odd glances before turning to him. “I’ve got an idea,” he said, “What if we study together?”  
Edward seemed to mull it over. “Thanks, but no thanks,” he said, “It’ll probably slow down our process. Plus, there are more books at Tucker’s place.” The two turned to leave again.  
Rin pouted as he watched them leave. Then he smiled again as he got an idea. “I have access to books from the National Library,” Rin stated.  
Edward and Alphonse stopped in their tracks. Edward slowly turned and looked him dead in the eye. “How,” Edward demanded.   
“My father is in the military,” he explained, “because of that I get a few special privileges. One of those being that I can check out five books at a time from any section of the library and have thirty minutes of free browsing time to do so.”  
“Deal,” the older Elric brother said without a second thought. They both then sat down at the table with him.  
“So what kind of alchemy are you studying?” Alphonse asked.  
“Fire alchemy, mostly,” Rin explained, “though I pretty much have to learn everything else for the written exam.”  
“Oh cool!” the boy in the suit of armor said, “That’s like what Mustang does, right brother?” Rin twitched slightly and frowned at the mention to the Colonel’s name.  
“Yeah…” Ed said, “that jerk did a pretty good job of showing off at the train station. I still can’t believe he knew that criminal was going to be there…” The he paused and looked up “Hey, wait a minute,” he said, putting two and two together, “Do you know him, Rin?”  
“Yeah...he’s my...mentor,” Rin lied, “I study fire alchemy under him as his apprentice and my brother is into bio alchemy.” He didn’t know why he lied. He just did. Maybe it was to spite Roy, maybe he just didn’t want to make the room more awkward as the kid in front of him clearly didn’t like the man. Either way he’d already messed up, so he’d just have to roll with it for now and find a way to explain it later.  
Both brothers paused. “What kind of Bio alchemy?” Ed asked.  
“Mostly plants,” he said, “though he’s been looking into medical alchemy. He really wants to use alchemy to help people. He’s been considering heading to Xing to maybe learn Alkahestry, but he’s still pretty far from making a decision.” A thought came to mind and he suddenly got a worried look on his face. “Hey...can you guys...not tell anyone I’m taking the exam? Particularly not Roy?” he asked.  
Both looked confused. “Why?” Ed asked carefully.  
“Well...he doesn’t exactly approve of it,” he said, “He says I’m too young and inexperienced to even try.”  
Edward frowned. “Well isn’t that hypocritical of him,” he grumbled, “considering he’s letting us.”  
“I know…” Rin muttered, glaring down at the desk.  
There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Al spoke again. “We promise not to tell,” he said, “but can we know why you’re taking the test?”  
Rin blinked in surprise. “Sure,” he said, “It’s kind of a long story, but like my brother, I really wanna be able to use my alchemy to do good, and because a state alchemist’s job is to protect the people, I thought that’s what I should do.” He then looked down. “But now, I want to prove myself too,” he said, “I know I’m capable of handling it, and I really just want to prove that to Mustang and everyone else. A lot of people see me an idiot next to my brother. They don’t say it, but I can tell they’re thinking it. And I want to prove them wrong.”  
Both brothers nodded in understanding. “What about you guys?” he asked, “Why are you taking it?”  
They exchanged glances and turned back with solemn expressions. “We lost our mother a few years ago,” Al explained.   
“And now we need to find the means to look out for eachother and make things right again, no matter what the cost,” Ed finished.  
Rin gave them both a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said, “I know how you must feel.” They both looked up in surprise. “I know what it’s like to never be able to see someone you care about again,” he said, “It hurts a lot and you wish more than anything you could just turn back time until things are normal again...but I guess the best thing to do is keep moving forward, you know? Make lemons into lemonade and take whatever you can get to make things better.”  
Both boys shared a glance. Then Ed smiled. “Yeah...You’re right about that,” he said, picking up a book from the the table.  
….


	16. Invite to dinner

For the past four weeks Rin had been giving him the silent treatment. Or at least near silent treatment anyways. He still spoke to him, but it was mostly curtly and in short sentences. Anytime he’d try to discuss the argument they had with Rin he would shut him down.  
“Rin, please, I just want to-” Roy tried to stop him as the twelve year old walked to the door.  
“It’s fine, I’m not mad,” he cut him off, tersely.  
“You clearly still are,” Roy argued.  
“No, I’m clearly not!” Rin snapped back.  
“Yes you are, or you wouldn’t be avoiding me like this!” he retorted. Roy sighed. “Fine if you don’t want to talk about this, alright. At least tell me where you’re going,” he said.  
“Out,” Rin responded.  
“That doesn’t tell me anything,” Roy snapped, eyebrow twitching.  
“With friends,” he continued as he finished unlocking the door.  
Roy gave him a confused look. “Who? Breda and Havock?” he asked.  
Rin scoffed. “I have friends outside of military personnel,” he snapped.  
Roy blinked in surprise. He couldn’t really think of any kids Rin and Yukio hung out with on a regular basis. He knew they knew a few teens around town that worked at their favorite coffee shops like Conrad and Balthasar and that Rin used to have a small crush on the loudmouth girl named Beatrice who worked at her uncle Leonato’s flower shop, but a side from that, he didn’t really know of any kids their age they knew well. “Why don’t I know about them?” Roy asked.  
“Well there are a lot of things you don’t know about me,” Rin hissed before slamming the door behind him.  
Roy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Yukio looked at him with pity as he watched the whole thing from the couch where he had been reading. He got up from the couch and walked up to him. “He’s going to be fine, you know?” he said, “He’ll cool off about this eventually.”  
Roy simply hummed in response. “Did you know about these friends of his?” Roy asked.   
“Nope,” Yukio said simply.  
“Well at least I’m not the only one out of the loop,” Roy sighed.  
…  
It had been strange to Edward to think that he could get along so well with someone he first thought to be a nuisance. Even after their first meeting, he hadn’t thought much of him. He seemed pretty nice, though his perkiness could be annoying at times. But eventually his enthusiasm became infectious. Even his stupid jokes he would interrupt their study time with started to grow on him, even if he groaned every time he told them a chemistry pun.  
For a while Ed didn’t know quite what to make of the kid as he never quite acted how he expected him to. Like when he found out Ed had automail. He expected him to say he was sorry or for there to be an awkward pause as he processed it and try to “nonchalantly” ask how he got it. Instead...this happened…  
“You have automail?!” Rin cried.   
Edward looked surprised. Then he mentally cured to himself as he remembered that he had forgotten to put his gloves back on after using the restroom. “Shit…” he thought, “here comes the pity party…” “uhh...yeah?” he responded.  
“That’s awesome!” he chirped, an excited look in his eyes.  
Both brothers balked at him. “What?!” they cried.  
“Well, I guess it’s not awesome how you got it, but the automail itself is cool!” he said, “It makes you look really badass!”  
“Wait...Really?” Edward said, “You’re not weirded out or going to throw me a pity party?”  
“No, why would I?” he said, “I mean, I’ve seen prothstetics before. The silver alchemist has a peg leg after all.” “But I haven’t really seen a lot of automail before, and it's so cool! It’s like the steampunk stuff I used to read about in my mangas when I was a kid,” he chirped.  
Both brothers looked confused for a moment. “What's a manga?” Alphonse asked.  
“And what’s steampunk?” Edward said.  
Rin blanched for as second, as if realizing his mistake. “Oh nothing!” he said, trying to laugh it off, “Just a kind of book I used to read as a kid! It’s stupid really, don’t worry about it!”  
“Ok…” Edward muttered.  
“So what kinds of features does it have? Can it fire missiles? Have a grappling hook attachment?” he asked excitedly.  
“No…,” Edward said slowly, “It’s just civilian automail…”  
“Still it’s pretty cool!” Rin said, still enthused, “I mean you can move all the joins and everything. Even the fingers!”  
“So what?” Ed said, crossing his arms, “That's the standard function of automail. I mean, I’m glad that it works and that I have it, but what's so cool about it being able to do it’s job?”  
Rin stared at him blankly for a moment, as if the answer was obvious. “Well…,” he started, “Not everyone who loses a limb can have automail. Not everyone has access to it…There are some people that don’t even know it exists.”  
Edward gave a look of surprise and his brother jolted back in response. He looked at his automail limb sadly. He was already taking it for granted. If Winry and Pinako weren’t his neighbors, there might have been no way for him to get automail so quickly or at all for that matter. “Yeah...I guess that is kinda cool…” he said.  
…  
There were other odd things about him. He’d love to talk about some of his favorite books, most of which Ed and Al had at least heard of, but sometimes he would say something or reference something they didn’t understand, like “rewind” or “airplanes” or mention that he’d seen something in a “movie”. He’d been quick to change the subject after they asked him about those things though. Still, despite this weirdness he seemed pretty nice none the less. He was goofy but in a good way. To be honest, Ed kinda liked that about him. He had tons of stories of stupid thing he did to tell. He always knew the best way to lighten the mood when they got frustrated with a text (though he was usually the first), and he would always greet them with a smile when they met up.   
...Except today that is. When they saw him, he was already sitting at the table of the library but wasn’t looking too happy. “Hey Rin, what’s wrong?” Alphonse asked as he sat down.  
“Oh it’s nothing. Just got into an argument with my dad,” he muttered, “Let’s just get to work.”  
“Are you sure it’s nothing? You seem pretty down…” he responded.  
“I said, it’s fine!” he snapped.  
“Hey, You don’t have to talk to Alphonse that way!” Edward responded, “Seriously, are you alright? You’ve never been in this bad of a mood.”  
Rin thought for a second. “This isn’t something you can help me with,” he said, “It’s been going on for a few weeks.”  
“If it’s been going on for weeks then it isn’t fine,” Edward said, “Come on. What's up with you?”  
Rin narrowed his eyes at him before giving a huff. “Fine,” he said, “When I told my dad I wanted to be a state alchemist he flipped on me and then we had an argument on the subject again recently and the tension has just persisted. He’s been trying to talk to me about it more, but I don’t want to discuss it with him.”  
“No offence, but he kinda had a point,” Edward said. Rin looked up at him, betrayal clear in his eyes. “I didn’t think I’d need to say it, but the military isn’t all fun and games,” Ed continued, “Al and I are joining because we have to. If we had any other options, we wouldn’t.”  
“Yeah, your dad is probably just worried about you,” Al said, “It’s a dangerous job.”  
“But he doesn’t seem worried about you,” he thought to himself. “I realize it’s dangerous! I’m not an idiot!” Rin said, “But every other soldier realises that too. I just want to be able to do good for others. If you haven’t noticed, my particular skill set is kinda limited in what jobs it can do with it. It’s pretty much either military or police work, which by the way, the police in Central are technically part of the military.”  
“Still…” Al said, “You should try to understand why he’s upset. You don’t want to keep arguing forever, after all.”  
“I guess…” Rin said with a sigh. Maybe apologizing would at least make him let it go…  
....  
Rin came home later that evening with a paper bag in hand from the cafe. He looked around and noticed Roy wasn’t there. “Yukio?” he called, “You here?”  
“Yeah,” His brother called from upstairs.  
“Where’s dad?” Rin asked.  
“Out on a mission,” he said, “He got a call a while ago to investigate some strange transmutation circle someone had been drawing in the alley in midtown. Something about a possible lead on a black market gold producer.”  
Rin huffed in response. In a way he was glad. He wouldn’t have to apologize directly. He pulled out a piece of notebook paper from the drawer and began writing a note.  
….  
It was near midnight when Mustang got home. The lead had turned out to be a dead end. Either it was a red herring or whoever had used that circle cleared their tracks pretty well. He sighed. At least the day was finally over. He was about to walk passed the kitchen when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. There was a brown paper bag on the counter. He walked over to it and noticed the note on it.  
To Dad,  
Sorry about upsetting you a few weeks ago, but not sorry enough to make this myself. Enjoy.  
\--Rin  
Roy smiled at the note as he reached into the bag and pulled out a small cake sealed inside a box with plastic wrap. Well, at least something good happened today.  
….  
With a click, Roy had finished packing his last suitcase. He had been called to East City for a few days to meet with General Grumman. He had asked the boys if they wanted to come along but both had declined. Rin being the more adamant.  
He picked up the suitcases and began walking towards the stairs. He stopped in front of the twins’ room and saw Rin lying on his bed reading. It was the third book in the Heissgart James series, “The Raiders of the Xerxes Temple”.   
“Hey,” he said, getting the boy’s attention, “I’ll be heading out here.”  
“Kay,” Rin responded, looking back down at his book, “Have a safe trip.”  
“There should be plenty in the party for you to cook. Emergency numbers are on the wall next to the stove,” he said. Rin nodded without looking up. “Gracia will be with you guys from 9am to 5pm while I’m gone,” he continued. Rin once again nodded. Roy frowned before clearing his throat. Rin looked up in surprise. “Don’t I get a goodbye hug?” Roy said with a smirk.   
Rin set his book pages down on the bed and extended an arm into the air. “Only if you work for it,” he responded. Roy rolled his eyes before walking over to the boy and giving him a side hug. “See ya later Dad,” he said before releasing him.  
“You too,” Roy responded. As he let go, he looked down at the book, the dust jacket slightly worn with age. He crooked an eyebrow. “That’s the seventh time now I’ve seen you rereading that book,” he noted with amusement, “Don’t you get tired of it?”  
Rin smiled and shoved him away playfully. “No way! It's the best in the series!” he exclaimed, “There’s so much suspense and action...and the scene where the Drachman soldiers’ faces melt off when they open the king’s tomb is awesome!”  
Roy chuckled as he moved to leave the room. “Now I wonder if I really should have given you those books when you were so young,” he said shaking his head. “Take care. I’m going to go say goodbye to Yukio. Don’t burn the place down while I’m gone,” he said. Rin gave him a thumbs up and he headed down the stairs. Rin then returned to his book. After a few minutes, he heard the door slam. He then slipped the Heissgart James dust jacket off the cover of his book on theories in alchemy.  
….  
“Gah!” I can’t take it any more!” Rin whined, as he slumped onto the desk in the library, “I need a break...My brain is exploding from knowledge! I knew I shouldn’t have tried to study before I got here!”  
Alphonse chuckled while Edward crooked an eyebrow at him unsympathetically. “We just took a break!” he retorted.  
“Then I’m calling it quits early,” he said getting up, “My brain can’t take any more of this today…”  
“Wimp!” Edward teased.  
“Come on Rin!” Alphonse said, “You’ll never be able to pass the test if you just give up on studying!”  
“I’m not giving up!” he said, “I really have to go! Dad’s out of town and Yukio’s going to be coming back late from the shooting range so it’s up to me to make dinner.” “Plus I’ll have to stop at the store for Kuro,” he said, “We’re almost out of cat food and-”  
“You have a cat?!” Alphonse asked excitedly, “What kind?”  
“Uhh...yeah,” Rin responded, surprised by his outburst, “We don’t know exactly what breed he is, but he’s kind of a tuxedo color with a brown muzzle.”  
“Is he a kitten or is he a grown up cat?” Alphonse pressed.  
Rin scratched the back of his head awkwardly, remembering that the cat used to guard a silk farm hundreds of years ago. “He’s pretty old, but we’re not sure how old,” he explained, “We didn’t get him as a kitten. We got him about four years ago as an adult. He’s pretty active though! He likes to sneak into the cabinets.”  
“Aww! He sounds adorable!” Alphonse cooed.  
“If you want, you guys can come over and see him,” Rin offered, surprising the boys.  
“What?” Ed sputtered, nearly falling out of his chair.  
“You mean it?” Al cried, his soul fire eyes sparkling as he raised his gauntlets to his mouthpiece like a giddy child.  
“Sure, you can even stay for dinner if you like!” Rin said, “My dad is out of town and I’m cooking anyways, so why not?”  
“You don’t have to do that…” Ed replied, trying to gently turn him down.  
“No, I insist!” Rin said, “You guys have done a lot for me by helping me study. I wouldn’t be half as far along as I am now without your help. It’s the least I can do!” Then a proud smirk crossed his face. “Plus, then I’ll get to rock your tastebuds with my mad cooking skills!” he announced excitedly, balling his hands into fists, “It’ll be so awesome!”  
“Thanks! We’d love-” Alphonse began but Ed cut him off laughing nervously.  
“Will you excuse us for a moment?” he said, grabbing his brother and dragging him behind a shelf. “Al, what are you thinking?!” he hissed, “We can’t stay for dinner! You can’t eat remember! We can’t accept an invitation to dinner and then refused to eat!”  
“Oh...right…” Alphonse muttered, deflating, “sorry brother…”  
“Now we just need to come up with a good excuse,” Ed whispered, stroking his chin, “Maybe we can say that-”  
“Hey!” Rin called. The two peaked out from behind the shelf. “I gotta get going, but I’ll leave the library books with you guys so you can finish up. You can just drop them off at my house and decided if you wanna stay then, alright? The address is on the table,” he said as he picked up his bag, “See ya later then!”  
The two brothers watched him leave. “Well I guess that worked out for us,” Edward muttered. Alphonse nodded in agreement.  
…  
Two hours later there was a ring at the door. Rin opened the door to see Ed and Al standing there with the books he had borrowed from the national library. “Welcome guys!” Rin greeted cheerfully, “make yourselves at home!”   
“Thank you!” Alphonse said walking in.  
“Not a bad place,” Ed observed, “Quite cozy actually. Though its kinda small compared to the houses of other military guys we’ve seen…”  
“Brother!” Alphonse hissed.  
“What?! It’s true!” Edward responded, “Tucker’s place is huge and he’s only been a state alchemist for two years! I know you’ve seen the Armstrong estate in passing, and I can only imagine how extravagantly the colonel lives with that ego of his!”   
“Hey!” Rin snapped, “Not everyone in the military lives so extravagantly, you know! Not everyone enjoys flaunting their money, either!”  
Edward sighed. “Sorry Rin, sometimes I forget how blunt I can be…” he apologized.  
Rin shrugged. “It’s fine. I’ve had the same said of me before,” he said, “I’ll get started on dinner. You guys make yourself comfortable.”  
Both brothers sat down on the couch. Edward scanned the room as Rin and Alphonse chatted. He noticed a book lying inside the open end table drawer. He pulled it out and looked at it curiously. The cover read “Demonology”. Ed raised an eyebrow before deciding to flip through it. He furrowed his brow as he studied the grotesque illustrations and descriptions of the different creatures. He shook his head and finally closed it, deciding it was too strange for him. “Weird, warped mythology,” he thought to himself, “I can’t believe people come up with this crap! Why would people waste their time with it anyways? It’s not like any of it is real…”  
Suddenly he heard the squeak of steps as something hopped down the stairs. “Speak of the devil,” Rin said, “Looks like Kuro’s awake!” He turned back to his cooking while the two boy turned to the stairs. They were expecting to see a cat. That wasn’t what they got at all.  
“Uuuhhhh...Rin?” Ed called, not taking his eyes of the thing on the stairs, “What the heck is that?!”  
“Are you guys blind?” he said, glancing over his shoulder to see Kuro frozen on the steps, “It’s a cat!”  
“That...isn’t a cat Rin…” Alphonse said, still surprised.  
“What are you guys talking about?” he said, “Haven’t you ever seen a feline before?”  
“Yeah, and they don’t usually have horns or two tails!” Ed retorted.  
Rin dropped his knife. T-they could see kuro’s true form?! H-how?! Why?! Rin was beginning to panic. He didn’t know what to do! He had never met another person in this world with a temptant.  
“Seriously, stop playing games with us,” Ed said, “what the heck is up with that thing?”  
Rin relaxed slightly. They clearly didn’t know what a demon looked like. Maybe they just got scratched by a hobgoblin when they were kids or something. “Oh, did I forget to mention?” Rin suddenly said a little too cheerfully, “H-he’s a chimera! Yeah! Part goat, you see. We don’t know where he came from though. We found him on the streets as kids!”  
“Oh...ok,” Alphonse said, “I’ve never seen a live chimera before. He’s really cute!” Rin relaxed as they accepted that explanation. “Hey there little guy! I’m Alphonse,” he said to the cat. The armored boy reached for the supposed cat-mera, but he flinched away. Kuro’s big green eyes were locked on Alphonse intently, analyzing him. “Aw, don’t be scared,” he said, “I don’t bite!”  
This didn’t seem to assure Kuro in the slightest. As he reached for him again, he leapt away and hissed at Al. There was something wrong with that suit of armor and he knew it. He couldn’t smell a speck of human body odor on it...but he could smell human blood. He couldn’t sense a heartbeat coming from it, but he could feel a soul thrumming from inside.  
“No! Don’t be scared!” Al cried, trying to chase the cat around the room, “Come back!”  
“Al, leave it alone!” Edward ordered, “The poor thing obviously doesn’t want to be messed with right now.”  
Kuro ran to Rin and started meowing at him incessantly, trying to warn him. Rin crooked an eyebrow before frowning. “No I think I know what he wants,” Rin said with a sigh before picking him up, “And no, you can’t have any right now!” Kuro blinked in surprise before giving him a frustrated expression. That’s what he got out of his warning mewls? That he wanted wine?! “Come on you, be nice to Alphonse,” Rin said to the demon cat before carrying him over to him and setting him down in his lap.   
“There now. It’s ok, just be gentle with him. He was probably just freaked out because the last big guy to hold him nearly squeezed him to death,” Rin said.  
“Don’t worry, I will!” he said as he began to stroke the cat. “Who’s a good kitty?” he cooed as he petted Kuro. However, the cat sidhe was having none of it. He was going to protect this house if it was the last thing he ever did. He suddenly bit into Al’s gauntlet as he went to pet him, piercing the metal.  
“Ahh!” Al cried.  
“Holy shit!” Ed shouted.  
Rin turned away from his cooking again to see what the commotion was. “Kuro! Stop!” he cried, pulling the cat away from the suit of armor. He hissed and spat as Rin held him away. “What the crap, Kuro?!” he snapped, “What has gotten into you?! You never bite people!”  
“Your cat-thing is crazy!” Ed snapped.  
“I’m starting to think you’re right…” Rin muttered. The demon cat huffed at the ignorance of his master and suddenly squirmed out of his grip. If he couldn’t see the obvious, he was going to make him see! Kuro lept at Alphonse’s helmet and grabbed the plume in his teeth. He tugged it with him as he fell to the ground and it popped off, clanging to the floor.  
Everyone stood still for a moment for a second. Al in shock, Ed in fear, Rin in horror, and Kuro with pride at a job well done. Ed tried to speak up. “Now Rin…” he said slowly, “Please, don’t-”  
“I-it’s empty….” Rin stated, at a loss.  
“We can explain!” Al began, “Just please don’t-”  
But it was too late. Rin had already moved. He ran to the kitchen and threw open the cabinet, searching for what he needed. “Third one from the left, just as dad said,” he thought. He pulled out the holy water grenade and held it aloft for them to see. “Alright!” he growled gaze steeled, “One of you better explain this to my or I toss this puppy!”  
Both Elric brothers began to freak out. “WHAT THE HELL?! IS THAT A GRENADE?!” Ed screamed, “WHY THE HELL WAS THAT IN YOUR CABINET?! WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET THAT?!”  
“Please don’t throw it! I don’t want to die!” Al cried.  
“You’ll kill us all if you throw that thing at us!!!” Ed shrieked, “Put it down, you idiot!”  
“I will when you explain what the hell you are!” he said.  
“We’re human, stupid!” Ed snapped at him. He thought this kid was smart, but from the looks of it, he was just crazy. “What else could we be?”  
He didn’t know if they were toying with him in or being honest. “I don’t know, a ghost?” he said, “suits of armor don’t just move on their own!”  
“It’s alchemy, you idiot!” Ed bit back, “I bonded his soul to the suit! Look at his suit! There’s a blood ceal in it.” Rin lowered his hand with the holy water grenade and moved closer. Sure enough at the back of the suit there was a small blood ceal that looked like an alchemic array.   
Rin turned to Ed. “What happened? Why did it happen?”he asked.  
“I promise we’ll explain everything…” Ed said, “Just get rid of that thing before you kill someone!” He gestured to the grenade in Rin’s hand.  
“Uhhh...yeah, about that…” Rin said sheepishly, “This thing...can’t actually hurt you.” The boys gave puzzled expressions. “There aren’t any dangerous explosives inside this...just water,” he continued, unscrewing the top to prove his point. He pulled out the inner chamber to reveal a small vial of holy water.  
Ed and Al glared at him. “You scared me half to death you know that?” he hissed, “If we weren’t friends I would be beating the crap out of you right now.”   
“Sorry…” he said with a shrug. There was an awkward pause for a few moments.  
Ed sighed, a solemn look on his face. “Anyways...as we told you, Al and I lost our mother at a young age. We were only eight and nine at the time. Our father had left us a while ago so we had no one left to look after us,” he explained, “one day, we decided we couldn’t stand it anymore. We just !wanted to see her smile again. So we got ourselves an alchemy teacher...and we attempted the taboo.”  
“We tried human transmutation,” Al continued, “but we didn’t realise what the true price would be. That nothing could equal a human soul. Brother lost his leg…”  
“And Al lost his body,” Ed continued, voice very quiet now, guilt seeping through his voice. “I gave up my right arm to get his soul back,” Ed said, gripping his automail.  
“Now all we want is to fix our mistake,” he continued, “We just want to get our boy’s back to normal.” As he finished, both boys looked to Rin expectantly.  
Rin stared at them blankly. He didn’t know what to say. He could only image what it must have felt like to go through something like that. And here he thought he had problems… “Damn…” he breathed, “You guys have seen some serious shit, haven’t you?”  
They both nodded...well Ed did. Al still didn’t have a head to nod with. “You don’t know the half of it,” Ed sighed.  
“You…” Al started, but cut himself off, “You probably want us to leave now, don’t you?”  
“Why would I want you guys to leave?” Rin said, shocking the two of them.  
“Because we performed the worst taboo in alchemy!” Ed stated like it was obvious, “People generally don’t want to be associated with people like that!”  
“Who am I to judge you guys?” Rin said, once again surprising them, “You think you’re the only people to screw up? I’ve seen people do worse and have no remorse for it.” He thought back to his own past in Assiah with the Vatican. “Besides,” he said, determination clear in his eyes, “Now I have a new reason to become a state alchemist: to help you guys get back to the way you were!”  
Ed and Al were taken aback by this. “Are you crazy?” Ed said, “You don’t need to do that! This is our lives, our burden to carry, not yours! You don’t owe us any-”  
“I know, I know! Equivalent exchange and all that,” Rin said, rolling his eyes, “Screw that shit. Haven’t you heard of just being a good Samaritan? You shouldn’t expect a reward for doing good things and people shouldn’t have to owe you something to treat you with a little human decency. You’re my friends. Friends are supposed to be there for eachother, right?”  
Both boys were stunned by his words. “You’ve only known us for a few weeks..” Edward argued weakly.  
“So?” he said, “People have done kinder things for people they don’t even know.”  
After a moment, Edward smiled at him and nodded. “Thank you,” Alphonse responded, a gracious warmth in his voice, “That really means a lot to us.”  
Rin smiled in return. “No problem,” he said, “Now, do you guys wanna help me finish preparing dinner?”  
“Sure!” Edward said, walking into the kitchen. Alphonse followed him but was stopped as he heard something scratch at his armor and meow at him. He looked down to see kuro with his helmet. The cat looked down guiltily and nudged the helmet towards him.   
Alphonse gave a warm hum in response as he picked up the helmet. “Thanks Kuro,” he said as he put it on. He then bent down to scratch behind the demon cat’s ear. “Good kitty…” he said. Kuro purred in response.  
…  
“Thanks for all the help guys!” Rin said, setting the table, “This stir fry is gonna kick ass, I can tell!”  
“I can’t wait to try it,” Ed responded, “It smells great!”  
Rin began serving out portions. “How much do you want, Al?” Rin asked.  
An awkward silence filled the air. “Umm…” Al began, “None I’m afraid. I can’t eat anything in this suit…”  
Rin mentally slapped himself for not realising. “Oh..” he said, “Sorry. I didn’t realise..,”  
“It’s alright,” he said, “I forget sometimes too.”  
There was another pause, before rin smiled and turned to Al. “You know what?” he said, “When we get your body back, the first thing I’ll do is make you an all you can eat buffet of whatever you want.”  
“Really?” Al said, “You’d do that?”  
“Sure!” he said, “I’d love too!”  
“Stop being so nice to us!” Ed teased, “You’re making us look terrible by comparison!”  
“Hey, I can’t help it that you’re really a jerk!” Rin teased back, sticking out his tongue. Ed rolled his eyes and flicked him on the forehead as he came by with the pan of stir fry.  
Ed then picked up his fork and took a bite out of the dish. His eyes widened, and he let out a moan of delight. “This is amazing, Rin!” he said as he began shoveling it down his throat.  
“Thanks, man!” he chirped, scratching the back of his head, “Cooking is the only really productive skill I have besides setting stuff on fire...though I guess that’s more of a destructive skill.”  
“Whatever kind of skill,this is, it’s amazing!” Ed said.  
“Should I add it to the list of things to try after I get back to normal?” Al said in amusement.  
“Definitely!” ed said between mouthfuls of food. When he scraped off the last bit from his plate, he immediately turned towards Rin and said, “More please!”  
Rin chuckled. “Save some for me, dude!” he responded.  
As he got up, however, the front door began to open.  
“Rin! I’m home!” a voice called.   
The Elric brothers turned towards the door. “Hey!” Rin called from the table, “Dinner’s on the table!”  
“Great, I’m starving,” he said as he stepped through the door. He was a blue eyed and black haired boy like Rin but there were some noticeable differences. The biggest ones were his height and his glasses, but the boy also had two moles below his right eye and a square jaw. The boy spotted the Elric brothers. “Who’s this? Are they the friends you mentioned a few weeks ago?” he asked as he walked over to the table.  
“Yup!” Rin said with a nod, “I met them in a library. Guys, this is my younger twin brother.”  
“Hey!” Edward said, standing up and holding out a hand, “My name’s Edward Elric and that’s my brother Alphonse.”  
“It’s nice to meet you!” the boy in the suit of armor said.  
Yukio smiled warmly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too!” he said, taking Edward’s hand, “I’ve heard a lot about you guys. My name is Yukio Mustang.”  
With those five words, the happy atmosphere of the room took a nosedive along with Ed’s smile as his face morphed into one of shock and disbelief. He and Al suddenly became stiff and stared at Yukio with mouths a gape.  
“Oh shit...” Rin thought, panicking on the inside.  
Yukio just looked confused. “What?” he said, “Is something wrong.”  
“No it’s just…,” Ed said carefully, voiced strained, “Did you just say Mustang?!”


	17. Truth, half truths, and lies

Ed’s mind stopped working for a few moments. The colonel was a father?! And a father to someone who wasn’t a jerk?!  
“Your father is Colonel Mustang?” he asked, voice shaking.  
“....Yes?” Yukio responded, “I’m sorry, is there a problem?”  
Ed suddenly rounded on Rin. “But you said Roy was your mentor!” he shot at him.  
“You did what? Rin!” Yukio snapped, “Why would you lie?”  
“Hey! I was still super pissed at him for the whole state alchemist thing!” he said, “And I wasn’t lying! He is my mentor...and also my dad.”  
It was hard to believe, but it all made sense. How he knew about the two of them. Why he was able to study flame alchemy. Why he had access to the national library. Why their father was out of town. Heck, they even LOOKED like him! A little anyways. Yukio more than Rin to be honest. And it wouldn’t be hard to believe that the guy had fathered some kids at some point with his reputation for being a womanizer. No wonder he had found Rin so annoying at first....he was related to that bastard!  
Still it felt weird to think that Colonel Mustang was a dad. He seemed like such a cold and detached person, who only cared about his status. He was pompous and overly confident, and was not someone to openly show much emotion beyond a cocky grin. Ed could never picture him settling down. Granted, Rin had mentioned they never had their mother around at one point so that thought could still hold true. But if the didn’t have a mother around….  
“Wait a minute…” Edward said, “What happened to you guys during the Eastern Rebellion?”  
Rin and Yukio blinked in confusion. “Huh?” they both responded.  
“You both would have had to been alive during it,” he said, “And I know Roy was involved. He didn’t just leave you here alone did he?” To be honest, they were probably even born before Roy even joined the military.  
“What? No!” Rin responded.  
“Roy didn’t abandon us,” Yukio said.  
“Then what is it?” Ed said, “Because Rin told us you guys don’t live with your mom!” Ed was furious. What would they have been at the time? Five? Six? Much too young to be without both parents. It was one thing to have one parent in the military. Ed could understand that. He could even understand having both be part of it if they were drafted or if they joined before they had children, like Winry's. But to have your only parent consciously join when that parent had small children who needed them...that made Edward absolutely livid. If Mustang really had left these boys alone like their father had done to them so just so he could join the military and go off and fight and possibly die, Edward was going to ring his neck!  
“We weren’t living with him at that time,” Yukio explained, “Roy didn’t know that we even existed.”  
Both brothers gave confused looks.  
“How does that work?” Al asked, “If you guys never lived with you mother, who were you living with before? One of her relatives? How did Roy not know about you two?”  
“Al, there are plenty of ‘fathers’ that don’t know they’re fathers for a long time,” Ed responded, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Roy was one in of those guys.”  
“That’s not the case either,” Yukio said.  
“He didn’t know about us because we aren’t his,” Rin explained, “We were adopted.”  
With those words, Edward’s brain stopped working. None of that made sense! Why would someone like Roy adopt? He could see him taking in children of his own blood. Ed knew the man would atleast take responsibility for his actions. But to actually go out of his way to look after two kids? The idea seemed impossible!  
“Wh-what?” Ed said.  
“You heard what I said,” Rin responded.  
“I think what brother means to ask,” Alphonse said, “is how did this come about?”  
Yukio sighed. “It's a bit of a long story. Can I sit down and eat first?” he asked.  
…  
As Yukio finished his meal the atmosphere in the room had been rather akward. Alphonse had tried to make conversation here at there, but it didn’t really go anywhere.  
“So...when did Colonel Mustang start teaching you flame alchemy?” He asked.  
“When I was eight,” he said, “we went out of town for a month to work on it out where no one could get hurt. That was grueling. Dad had me practice the same exercises for hours on end until I mastered them.”  
“Really?” Alphonse said, “I had no idea flame alchemy is so difficult. It looked so easy when the colonel did it.”  
“Nah, man,” he said, “It is so hard at first. You have to concentrate on like...twenty things at once, and don’t even get me started on how bad moving target practice is!”  
“What about you, Yukio?” Al asked, “Your brother said you were into plant alchemy.”  
“Yeah, I was,” he said, starting to clear off his plate, “But my interest has faded a little. I’ve started branching out. I’m considering taking a look at Alkahestry, but I’m not so sure. I’d need to find a school to enroll into first with either a dorm or get in contact with a possible host family. I’ve already been studying Xingese for a few years, so at least that won’t be an issue.”  
Edward had drowned out the conversation a bit. He was still a bit shell shocked with this new revelation about Roy. Ed had assumed a lot about him. He thought he had Roy pegged as a pompous jerk with a huge ego. He still thought of him that way...but he had no idea about everything else. I mean, he was sitting in his house--Colonel Mustang’s house!-- and it was nothing like what he expected.  
He expected the Colonel to live in some really nice, three story, twenty room building down by a private park with maids and such. Or maybe a fancy penthouse apartment. Not a narrow little two story building with about six rooms minus the upstair’s hallway that was sandwiched between two others in the downtown area. Heck, their old house had been bigger than this! Granted, he could just be a penny pincher. Or it could be the fact that paying for the living expenses of two almost teenage boys put a sizable dent in his account and he might not be comfortable with keeping up with something larger.  
Secondly, he hadn’t expected Roy to be an animal person. He never thought the guy would hate animals entirely, but it never crossed Ed’s mind he would just take in a stray he found on the street. He didn’t seem to Ed to be that kind of man to do something like that out of the goodness of his heart….course, that could just have been Yukio or Rin begging him to let them keep it...Which actually brings to light a completely different side of Roy he would have never expected. He didn’t think the colonel would be soft enough to fall for baby doll eyes.  
But the strangest was that Demonology book. Why did Roy have that? He always seemed too rational of a person to be interested in something like that. Did Roy have some sort of secret interest in the occult? The book even seemed to have hand written notes on the sides with references to other material, so whatever this was, it certainly wasn’t just some curiosity the man had in mythology. The notes talked in detail about where the creatures were found and weaknesses. Whatever this was, they man seemed to take it seriously, and Ed had to admit, that bothered him a little.  
Ed had completely lost himself in thought on this, as he didn’t even realise Yukio had started making tea until a cup had been set out in front of him. Ed nodded thanks before Yukio was about to set out a cup for Alphonse.  
“Uhhh…” Al started.  
Yukio seemed to realise his discomfort. “Woops!” he said picking it up again, “Sorry, Alphonse. I wasn’t thinking. I’ll just take this cup instead.”  
Ed, Al, and Rin looked shocked. The Elric brothers exchanged worried glances. How did he know? Did he know? They had to figure out a way of asking discretely, but Rin’s bluntness beat them to it.  
“Hey!” he cried from his position of sitting backwards in a chair facing away from the couch, “How is it you know Alphonse can’t drink tea?” Ed wanted to shout at him but Yukio cut him off.  
“Dad explained to me their situation,” he said simply as he sat down on the armchair in front of the couch and coffee table, “I asked him about Al’s suit when I found out there was no profile image of the boy on hand.”  
This struck a nerve with both Ed and Rin. “What do you mean he told you?!” Ed demanded, “He promised not to tell anyone what we did!”  
“Why didn’t he tell me then?” Rin added, stretching out his arms into the air for emphasis.  
“Well maybe he would have told you if you didn’t avoid talking to him for four weeks!” Yukio snapped in annoyance. Rin pouted. Yukio shook his head. He then took a deep breath and turned towards the Elric brothers with a more calm composure. “I understand that you’re upset, but you have no need to worry,” Yukio explained, “I am the only one he has shared this knowledge with, and I am sworn to secrecy. Not even his best friend Major Hughes knows of this.” The boys relaxed slightly. “Though I must ask, how did Rin find out?”  
“Your freaky chimera took Al’s helmet and Rin made us confess after that,” Edward explained.  
Yukio gave a confused look. Chimera? He looked to Rin for an explanation. He mouthed “They mean Kuro. Roll with it!” at him.  
“I see,” Yukio responded to the elric brothers before giving Rin a glance that said “We need to talk about this”.  
“So how did you come to live with the Colonel?” Alphonse asked, “If you don’t mind me asking.”  
“Well as you know, we never lived with our mother,” Yukio explained, “She died in childbirth. And so we were adopted by a man named Shiro Fujimoto.”  
Ed crooked an eyebrow. “What about you biological father? Why didn’t he take you in?” he asked.  
Yukio paused. He didn’t like thinking about him. Neither of them did. He had always been thankful that Roy had told people about their situation in another room for this reason, even if he did stretch the truth. “Well...he…”  
“We don’t talk about him,” Rin growled.  
A look of sympathy formed in Edward’s eyes. “Sorry…” he said, “I know what it feels like to have a shitty dad like that.”  
Rin glared at him. “No, trust me, you don’t,” he hissed.  
Ed’s eyes widened in surprise. “Rin!” Yukio hissed, before turning to Edward, “I’m sorry, he didn't mean to upset you...but as he stated, our biological father is a touchy subject for us. He was more than just a bad parent….he was….for now, let’s just say we both wish he didn’t have as much influence on our lives as he did.”  
Both Elric brothers gave confused looks before nodding in understanding. “Anyways, we lived with Shiro until we were seven years old. He loved and cared for us very much….,” Yukio said before trailing off, “but due to reasons involving our biological father...it was no longer safe for us to stay with him. So Shiro had us taken to Amestris to live with our current guardian, Roy Mustang. He was a friend of his and he owed Shiro his life so-”  
“Wait a minute…” Ed said, “You had to be taken TO Amestris? You mean you aren’t from this country?” Both boys nodded. Edward’s eyes widened in surprise and Alphonse shifted in his seat. “So where are you from then?” he asked, “Are you from Creta? Drachma?...Xing?”  
“Farther than that,” Yukio said.  
“How far?” Alphonse asked.  
“Ever heard of a place called Assiah?” Yukio asked. Both boys looked at each others before slowly shaking their heads “no.” “Yeah...about that far,” Yukio said.  
“You guys really had to travel that far?” Alphonse asked, his voice deep with concern.  
“It was the only way to make sure that we were safe,” Yukio explained.  
“You traveled from all the way around the world just to make sure your biological father couldn’t find you?” Edward said in disbelief.  
“That’s about right,” Yukio said. “And those that wanted our heads on a pike,” Yukio thought to himself.  
The Elric brothers sat there in silence. Edward stared at his tea cup. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and yet how could he not? This wasn’t the kind of thing one could make up. He never expected a story like this from someone like Rin. Hs seemed so happy…and yet ha had apparently had his whole world ripped apart because of one man...and he couldn’t even wish that man never existed because then he wouldn’t either! His fists tightened at his own developing fury at the man. There was a lot he wanted to ask but knew he shouldn’t. But one question still buzzed in his mind, and he had to ask it.  
“What about Shiro?” he asked, “Why couldn’t he come with you?”  
“He...wouldn’t have been able to make the journey,” he explained, “The toll was too much for him to come with us.” Edward wanted to ask more but he didn’t.  
“He’s still alive,” Rin assured, “But we aren’t able to be in contact with him.”  
There was a long silence between the four people in the room. “I’m sorry…” Alphonse said, staring at the ground, “You shouldn't have had to go through that…”  
Rin and Yukio blinked in surprise. “Why are you apologizing?” Rin asked, “It wasn’t your fault.”  
“I know but…” Alphonse started, “You both have been through so much pain because of this...and you didn’t even do anything to cause it!” If he could cry, there would have been tears streaming down Al’s face at the moment.  
“Hey! It’s alright!” Rin cried, flailing his hands, “We’re fine now! No need to be sad! No point in looking to the past now is there?” That didn’t seem to help.  
“Rin’s right,” Yukio spoke up, getting the boy in the suit of armor’s attention, “There’s no point in feeling bad for us now. What’s done is done, and can never be undone.We may miss Shiro, but we have to keep looking forwards or we’ll get nowhere. We’re safe and happy now, and that’s all that matters.”  
There was a pause as the Elric brothers took in what was said. Then Edward smiled. “You two are pretty wise for our age,” he said with a sad smile, “Wish we had your thought process a few years ago.”  
“Well, we would probably still be wallowing in our own pity without Dad,” Yukio said, “He’s the one who got us to think like that, and I couldn’t be more thankful.”  
There was long silence between the pairs of brothers. Finally Rin spoke up and broke it. “Soooo….” he started, “You guys wanna help me make dessert? I’ve got this wicked fudge recipe I found that I’ve been wanting to try out!” Edward and Alphonse smiled and nodded.  
….  
“Thanks for stopping by!” Rin called as he watched the elrics leave, “It was great having you!”  
“Thanks for having us!” Edward said, “The food was awesome!”  
“We left the library books on the counter for you!” Al called, “Thanks again! See you tomorrow.”  
“Thanks dude!” Rin responded, “Come back again soon.” Rin smiled as he closed the door. His face fell when he saw Yukio’s serious expression.  
“So they can see Kuro…” he said.  
“Yeah…” Rin responded with a sigh, “I don’t know how but they can. They don’t know what demons are though, so I just brushed it off that he was a chimera.”  
Yukio nodded. “Still, this does make me wonder how this happened,” he said, scratching his chin as he leaned against the wall.  
“Maybe they got scratched by a hobgoblin or another demon that live in forests,” Rin responded with a shrug, “They did live in a farming village.”  
“Maybe….” Yukio said narrowing his eyes. Then a realisation struck him. “Rin…” he started, “What if they can see demons because of their attempt at human transmutation?” Rin gave him a confused look. “Think about it,” Yukio said, “A temptant is a wound caused by a supernatural being. Truth is a supernatural being.” “Ed lost an arm and a leg, and Al lost hos whole body. Roy told us that human transmutation causes holes to form between the worlds...and Mephisto mentioned that...that friend of his...Truth...will take body parts when people don’t follow his rules,” he explained, “What if that’s why they can see demons, because of Truth taking their bodies?”  
Rin’s eyes widened. “Crap…” he whispered, “That really explains a lot…” “Do you think we should tell them?” he asked.  
Yukio shook his head. “Not now...not that they would believe us anyways,” Yukio said, “I doubt those two would believe us unless we told them absolutely everything...which I don’t feel comfortable doing.”  
Rin nodded. “Me neither…” he said. He trusted Ed and Al. He even believed there was a chance they might not be upset or scared. But still, a large part of him was still afraid to admit their heritage. Not even Riza or their Uncle Hughes knew the full story...and for now, he wanted to keep it that way. They may not know who Satan was or the full extent of his power, but the last thing that Rin wanted was to lose anyone because they were scared of him.  
“Whelp,” Rin said with a yawn and a stretch, “I’m going to bed. ‘Night.”  
“Hold on, Rin,” Yukio said, stopping him.  
Rin groaned. “What? I already cleaned the dishes,” he complained, “If you’re pestering me about taking a shower, I’ll just take one tomorrow. One day without a shower ain’t gonna-”  
“Rin, those books from the National Library are advanced alchemy books,” Yukio cut him off, looking him dead in the eye.  
Rin froze. Shit, he was on to him! “So?” he responded, looking away, “They don’t have access to the library. I’m just helping them out by getting them books!”  
“No you’re not…” Yukio responded, “You’re studying for the exam with them.”  
“I am not!” Rin snapped.  
“Yes you are!” his brother retorted, “I could see the guilt on your face from the moment I mentioned those books!”  
“Ok, so what if I am?” Rin bit back, “What’s your point? It doesn’t concern you, you know?”  
“Rin, Dad said no!” Yukio shouted, “You can’t just go off and do as you like! You have to listen to him!”  
“Yeah? And he said no about fire alchemy too, and look what happened!” he retorted, “He takes me out twice a week to work on it!”  
Yukio grinded his teeth and pulled on his hair in frustration. “This isn’t like fire alchemy,” he growled, “This is so much bigger than that. This is about joining the military! This is about possibly ruining your life! Don’t you see how important this is?!”  
“Of course I do, but do you?” Rin yelled back, “This is the most important thing I’ve ever done! Can’t you see that?! I have to do this. I have to prove to myself and others that I’m capable of this!” “But most of all, I have to do this to help Ed and Al!” He continued, “They’re my friends and I want to help them get their lives back in order! I don’t want to see Al stuck as that suit forever and I don’t want them to be guilty about it for all eternity, so don’t think I don’t see how important this is! I’m not going to leg anything stand in my way of helping them!” Rin huffed as he finished.  
Yukio stared at his brother for a long moment in silence. Finally he closed his eyes and sighed. “Fine,” he said, voice low, “go ahead and take the test. I won’t stop you and I won’t tell Dad.”  
Rin was taken aback in surprise. “What…?” he breathed, “You really mean it?!”  
Yukio nodded. “I can see how important this is to you. I won’t get in your way,” he explained.  
A bright, toothy smile spread across Rin’s face. “Thank you!” he cried, tackling his brother in a hug, “I knew you had a heart! You’re the best brother I could ask for!”  
Yukio frowned and struggled out of Rin’s grip. “Get off!” he hissed. Rin let go of him. “But I still have to tell Dad that you know Ed and Al now,” he continued, brushing himself off.  
Rin’s smile fell and his shoulders slumped. “Aw, come on!” he said, “You can’t do that! If he knows I’m hanging out with them, he’ll figure it out!”  
“Dad needs to know about who you’re friends with and he needs to know that thye have temptant!” Yukio argued. Rin sighed and looked down at the ground. He had a point. He guessed it was just too good to be true. “But I will xover for you,” Yukio responded, obviously not happy with the thought, “I’ll come up with some story to keep Dad from figuring out your secret.”  
Rin smiled at him. “Thanks, bro,” he said quietly, “I owe you, really.”  
“Don’t mention it,” Yukio said, less than enthused, “Seriously. Don’t.” Rin nodded before starting to ascend the stairs. As he took the first few steps, Yukio spoke again. “But Rin?” he said getting his brother’s attention, “If you get in and you ever feel the slightest bit in over your head or uncomfortable with what you’re being told to do, then I want you to resign as soon as possible. Please…”  
Rin stared at him for a second before smiling. “No worries,” he said, “I promise.” He then started heading up the stairs again. Yukio watched him leave. “Liar…” he thought as he did so.


	18. Surpirses in fair ammount

Shou Tucker sat brooding at his desk. Another failed experiment. The creature created could barely do more that whine, let alone speak. He had to think of something. He had to impress them, come next spring at his reassessment. If he didn’t, he could lose everything…  
The situation seemed hopeless. There was no way he could reproduce the same results under different circumstances. It simply wasn’t possible. He wasted the entire previous year trying and to no avail was he able to reproduce a talking chimera. And the circumstances of his most ambitious creation...well he didn’t think he could do that again without someone discovering the horrible truth.  
His frowned deepened. Judgement day as it were, was approaching. It was so far off and yet it seemed so close. If he failed, he didn’t know what he would do. How would he be able to feed himself without the money from his grant? How would he be able to stay off the streets? How would he keep Alexander? How would he take care of Nina?  
His brow furrowed as he sank deeper into his chair. He could almost feel the shadows growing longer and the room growing colder. His study seemed danker and darker and lonelier than ever before. His guilt and sins weighed heavy on his mind as the scent of mildew wafted through the air. He swore he could hear a fly or insect of some kind buzzing in his ear when he suddenly had a thought. A thought that chilled him to the bone. A thought of pure desperation that should never be spoken aloud and yet he began to. “Maybe…,” he whispered so quietly that only he could hear it, “I won’t have to take care of Nina if-”  
His train of thought was cut off by the distant doorbell and the sound of a dog barking. The dark and coldness and loneliness of the room suddenly receded as a high pitched voice rung in the air. “Daaaaaadyyyy~” Nina called from the hall, “Someone’s at da door! Do ya wan me ta get it?”  
Tucker blinked, coming back to reality. “Don’t worry, Nina dear,” he replied, “I’ll get it.” His mind felt foggy as he walked to the door. What had he just been thinking about? He couldn't remember. He knew it had something to do with his research…  
When he came to the door he saw a young man with black hair trying to get out from underneath a large dog while Nina stood next to the open door giggling. “Too wate!” she chirped, “Awexanda aweady gweeted him!”  
The boy managed to pull himself out enough from under the giant white dog to look up at the Sewing Life alchemist with an awkward smile. “Hey! A little help here?” he said, chest being crushed by the weight of the dog.  
“Oh, I’m sorry about him,” Tucker said with a polite amount of concern, “Let me help you up.” The older man began pulling him out from underneath the dog.  
“Thanks!” the black haired boy said as he climbed to his feet, “My name is Rin. Rin Mustang.”  
Realization dawned on Tucker. “Oh yes!” he said, “The Elric brothers said you would be coming over. You’re the flame alchemist’s son, correct?”   
“One of them anyways,” Rin noted smiling.  
“Forgive me for not recognizing you,” he said, “I don’t believe we’ve formally met. As I’m sure the boys have told you, I am Shou Tucker.”   
Rin was about to stretch out his hand when something suddenly tackled his leg. He looked down to see Nina grabbing him and giggling. “Hewwo!” She said, “You’re much tawwer dan widdle big bwother! Are you middle big bwother?”  
“Nina!” Tucker lightly scolded, “It’s impolite to latch onto people like that! I’m sorry, this is my daughter Nina. She’s only four.”  
Rin smiled at the man, “It’s cool!” he said, “She’s certainly friendly, anyways. But she said she had big brothers?”  
“She’s referring to the Elric brothers,” he explained, “Nina, why don’t you take him to them?”  
“Ok!” she chirped, attempting a salute but performing it with the wrong hand. She then let go of Rin and took hold of one of his fingers. “This way middle big bwother!” she said as she began tugging him along.   
Rin stumbled in surprise of the strength of the child. “Hey! Slow down there kid!” he said as she pulled him along. Nina did not slow down as she pulled him down the hall.  
Tucker smiled for a moment before turning and walking back down the hall to his study. As he entered, he could feel the dark and loneliness creeping up on him yet again.  
….  
“Hey guys!” Rin called as Nina led him up the stairs to their room.  
Alphonse turned towards him and Ed held a hand up in the air as he continued writing at his desk.  
“Hey Rin, we were about to get started with studying,” Alphonse said.  
“Wha? Middle big bwother didn’t come over to pway wiff you?” Nina asked.   
Rin scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Sorry Nina, but Rin’s preparing for the Alchemy exam with us,” Alphonse explained, “Maybe we can all play together later.”  
“But you guys are awways stud-ing,” she pouted, “You working hawd all da time! Daddy gets sad when he works too hawd. I don’t want you to be sad too!”  
“Trust me, I spend plenty of time not studying,” Rin said laughing awkwardly, “One might even say I’m a professional at not studying. That's why I need help from these guys.” He said jabbing his thumb at the Elric brothers.  
“Stiww...I don’t want widdle big bwother and big bwother to be sad…” she said, “I know! I’ww go get you some snacks fwom downstairs!” The little girl then ran down stairs, sliding her hand along the wall as she did so.  
“She seems like fun to hang around,” Rin said, “Though I can definitely see why you’d want to leave the house to study.”  
“Actually, we first went out of the house to find a quiet space because of Tucker’s experiments,” Al explained.  
“The animals he brought in were too noisey,” Ed piped up, finally.  
Rin nodded before peering over his shoulder. “Hey, what are you doing anyways?” he said looking at what Ed was writing. “Those don’t look like research notes,” he noted.   
Edward quickly covered his writing with another piece of paper and looked away. “It’s nothing,” he said, looking away.  
Rin frowned. “Awe come on dude, let me see!” he pouted, “What is it?”  
“I said, it’s none of your business!” he snapped keeping the page as far away from Rin as possible.  
“He’s writing a letter to Winry,” Alphonse explained, a teasing tone in his voice. Edward glared at him.  
“Winry?” Rin said in surprise, “That’s a girl's name, right? Is she your girlfriend?”  
Edward turned on Rin, blushing furiously. “She’s my mechanic!” he snapped.  
“So you’re dating your mechanic?” Rin asked bluntly, “I guess that makes sense, because you’d spend so much time alone together.”   
Edward growled at him. “No I’m not! We’re not together! Shut up!” he continued in his embarrassed fit.  
Alphonse snickered slightly at this. “I think it’s time to change the subject,” he said.  
“Ok,” Rin said with a shrug, “so have you guys worked on whatever routine you’re using for the exam?”  
They both blinked in surprise at him. “What do you mean?” Alphose asked.  
“My dad said a while there were multiple parts to the exam,” Rin explained, “Part of it is some kind of demonstration. I was wondering if you had come up with anything yet. I’m still drawing a blank on what to do myself.”  
“We hadn’t even known about that part until now,” Ed admitted.  
“Don’t worry. That part should be easy for you though,” Alphonse said.  
“Yeah, everyone likes a good fireworks show!” Edward said teasingly. Then he frowned. “Actually, now that I think of it, I don’t think we’ve ever seen you use your alchemy,” Edward noted.  
“Really?” Rin said, “to be honest I don’t think I’ve seen yours either.”  
“I guess we’ve been so busy studying that we haven’t spent much time practicing,” Alphonse said.  
“Huh...I guess you’re right,” Rin blinked as the realization dawned on him, “Well why don’t you guys go first?”   
The elric brothers nodded and got down on the floor. Al began drawing a transmutation circle on the floor. He touched his hands to the circle and and the array lit up, turning the floorboards into a small chair.  
“Woah!” Rin exclaimed, “That’s so cool!”  
“It’s not that great…” Alphonse said as he put the floor back to the way it was, “I can do better, but I couldn’t think of anything else on the fly like that.”  
“Still it’s pretty sweet!” Rin said, “You know, despite being surrounded by state alchemists, I really don’t get to see alchemy in action very often.”  
“Well if you think that’s great, wait till you see this!” Edward said before clapping his hands together and touching the floor. Blue light escaped from his hands and sparked along the floor. An indent formed and a statue of the the flamel insignia rose up from it.  
Rin’s eyes were wide with awe. “That’s amazing!” he breathed, “You did that without an array!” Edward smirked proudly. “Man, they should just give you the title right now!” Rin said, “with an ability like that, there’s no way they could say no….Kinda wish I could do that, actually.”  
“Speaking of which, it’s your turn,” Edward said, “Go ahead and show us what you’ve got.”  
“Alright then,” he said standing up and pulling on his ignition gloves.  
Nina open the door at that point with a box full of pretzels. “Huh?” she asked, “What’s he doing?”  
“Rin’s going to show us some of his flame alchemy,” Alphonse explained gesturing for her to sit next to him on the bed.   
“Oo! Oo! I wanna see!” she said, hopping up onto the bed with him, looking at Rin excitedly.  
“Ok guys,” he said, getting in position, “Here goes!” He snapped his fingers and a two foot plume of blue fire extended out above his hand for half a second. Edward and Al looked on in surprise and Nina looked on in wonder. The brothers couldn’t help but feel a chill run down their spines as the blue blaze extended into the air. It was mesmerizing for such a small flame. They had seen blue fire before in the gas powered stove back home, but this one seemed almost unearthly.   
“Woah…” Edward breathed.  
Nina began clapping and the brothers snapped back to reality. “That was pwetty!” she cried, continuing to clap. “How’d you do that, Win?” she asked.   
“It wasn’t that great,” he said chuckling as he kneeled down next to her, “If we were outside, I could do something much bigger.” “I did it with my gloves,” he explained, showing her the array, “The circle lets me control the blaze and my gloves act like a lighter when I snap to set it off!”  
“Cooool!” she cooed before trying to reach for the glove, “Can I try? Pwease? I wanna make pwetty bwue fwames too!”   
Rin suddenly moved away. “What? Oh heck no!” Rin exclaimed, standing up, “My dad would kill me if I let you play with these gloves! YOUR dad would kill me if I let you play with these gloves!”  
The girl tackled him at the waist. “Then can you do it again? Pwease? And make it biggah dis time!” she pleaded.   
Rin was knocked off balance by her sudden added weight and fell to the ground. “Guys, help!” he cried, “I’m being attacked by a three year old!”  
“I’m four!” she cried, holding up her fingers.  
The two boys snickered. “Looks like you’re having fun down there!” Alphonse said.  
“Shut up you jerks and help me!” he snapped at them, kicking his legs from his place on the floor.   
“Alright, stop fussing!” Edward said. Alphonse got Nina off of him while Edward extended a hand out to pull Rin up. “Now let’s head outside so we can give Nina a real show!” he said, “I’ve been needing to stretch my legs!”  
….  
Two days later…  
When Roy walked through the door, he knew something was wrong. Signs were everywhere.  
Sign number 1. The house is quiet. That means Rin is currently not in the house.  
Sign number 2. The house is clean. That means that Rin has not been in the house for quite some time, or has not been in the house much over the past few days.   
“Yukio?” he called.  
“Hey Dad,” he heard from upstairs. Sign number 3. Yukio is not with Rin.  
“How are you doing?” he asked.  
“Good,” he responded, “Just finishing up something. How was your trip?”  
“Good,” he said before cutting to the chase, “Where’s Rin right now?”  
“Out,” Yukio responded, “With friends.”  
Sign number 4. Yukio is mimicking Rin.  
“Do I know these friends?” Roy asked as he walked up stairs.  
“Actually, you do,” Yukio said before smiling at Roy. This was not a good smile, he could tell. “But you won’t guess who they are,” he said.  
“Enlighten me,” Roy said, preparing for the worst.  
“Edward and Alphonse Elric,” Yukio stated….Roy couldn’t tell if this was wonderful or absolutely terrible, and this frightened him.


	19. Sneaking suspicion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
> Btw, I made a cover of sorts for this series. Feel free to take a look: http://strawbebehmod.tumblr.com/post/147757862129/humankind-cannot-gain-anything-without-first  
> Have a nice day you guys!

Roy flipped through his paperwork, signing them mechanically. His mind was still elsewhere. It had been a few days since he had been given the revelation that Rin was now friends with the Elric brothers, but he had yet to speak to Rin on the subject. Yukio had been surprised by this, but in Roy’s own personal opinion, he really shouldn’t have been. First of all, he wasn’t entirely upset about this. He was actually a little glad Rin had found someone his own age to get along with. Under different circumstances, he would be downright ecstatic. Both the Elric and his own sons could really benefit from having each other to rely on...but due to Rin’s recent desire to become a state alchemist, Roy couldn’t help but wonder if their new found friendship is being used to get Rin a better chance at passing the exam.  
But again, it would have been stupid to shut him down or confront him right away. Rin would have denied any accusations, whether he was lying or not and letting him know he might be onto him and be better at covering his tracks.  
Lastly, Rin didn’t need more arguing and neither did Roy. After he barely talked to him for over four weeks and things were just starting to calm down, the last thing he wanted to do was start the argument again.   
Thats why Roy was going to be discreet about this...through spying. Riza walked into the room with another stack of papers. “Thank you Lieutenant,” he said, “How’s Rin doing?”  
“Breda spotted him heading to the National Library this morning,” she said, “Specifically the branch dedicated to Alchemy.” Roy frowned but wasn’t surprised.  
“And the Elrics?” Roy said.  
“Havock saw them leave the Tuckers estate around noon and offered them a ride,” she said, “He ended up taking them to the Burnham library on Dunsinane Avenue next to the Verona Cafe. He sat down for lunch at the sandwich shop across the street for lunch and spotted Rin walking into the library with a large stack of books.” Roy’s fist clenched, almost snapping the pen in his hand. So the kid was still trying to become a state alchemist. What was wrong with that kid?! Didn’t he know when to stop? Didn’t he understand how he’d be throwing away his life before he had a chance to see all that was to offer for him?  
Riza sighed. “Sir, I advise you that when you confront him on this You remain much calmer than you are now,” she said, “He’s barely a teenager. I doubt he has the maturity to understand all the repercussion of this, and probably thinks what he’s doing is for some greater good.” “And if that’s the case, then you really only have yourself to blame for rubbing off on him,” she added.  
Roy sighed. He knew she was right. The idea of this being a superhero fantasy for Rin alone was enough to remind him of his own declaration to join the military to make Amestris a better place. That didn’t make the conversation he was going to have later that evening any easier.  
….  
Roy had left work a little earlier than usual. When he had gotten home, Yukio was already there, but Rin unsurprisingly wasn’t. Also unsurprisingly, when he questioned Yukio about the location of his brother, he said he was out with friends. So Roy sat down on the couch with a book to sit and wait.  
An hour later the door clicked and began to open. “Yukio! I’m back!” Rin called.  
“Good to hear,” Roy piped up, “I was starting to get worried.” Causing the black haired boy in the doorway to almost jump in surprise.  
“Dad!” Rin’s voiced cracked as he tried to conceal the books he was carrying, “What are you doing home so early?”  
“Oh, no reason, just had a light workload,” he said, getting up and walking over to Rin, “I hear you had a fun day. Yukio told me you’ve been spending time with the Elric brothers.”  
Rin froze. “Yeah, so?” he said defensively, “Do you have a problem with that?”.  
“With you spending time with them?” he said, “Not at all. It’s good for you to have friends. I was worried you might not get along with them out of spite. I’m glad to see that isn’t an issue.” Rin relaxed a little as Roy walked past him slightly.  
“But,” he continued, rounding on Rin with a hard stare. He swiftly snatched one of the books from under Rin’s arm. The boy tried to grab for it but failed. “What is, is that I heard an interesting little rumor this morning that you visited the alchemy branch of the National Library, and now I find you coming home with highly advanced tomes on Alchemy that you wouldn’t have otherwise touched!” he said, glaring at Rin before lowering his voice, “and I think I know why.”  
“It’s not what you think!” Rin protested.  
“Oh?” Roy spat, “You mean you weren’t trying to study for the State Alchemy Exam under my nose, when I SPECIFICALLY told you not to?” He was gripping the book tightly. “Because I would really like that not to be the case, Rin,” he hissed, “So go ahead and tell me why it isn’t.”  
Rin swallowed as he gazed into Roy’s steely eyes. “I’m not the one studying for the test,” he said, “the Elrics are!”  
Roy’s eyebrow twitched. “I know that, Rin,” he said, “All of central command knows he’s studying for the test.”  
“No, I mean I’m helping them study!” Rin explained, “I know they aren’t allowed in the national library, so I thought I could help them by bringing them material from it. You, know, to give them an edge and stuff.”  
“And why would simply you do that?” Roy asked, clearly not believing Rin.   
“I’m...living through them….” Rin said, “I mean if I can’t be a state alchemist, then I can at least take satisfaction in knowing I helped someone else become one.”  
“Oh really?” Roy said crooking an eyebrow, “What are you going to tell me next? That you’ve taken a sudden interest in Calculus?”  
Rin frowned, trying to stand his ground. “I’m being honest!” he retorted.  
“Why do I not believe you…” Roy muttered.  
“Cause you’re a total jerk who always thinks he’s right!” Rin snapped.  
The two were silent for a moment. Roy’s eyes remained narrowed for a moment before he sighed. This wasn’t going to go anywhere. Rin was as willful as himself, maybe even more so. Whether he’s lying or not, he’ll stand his ground until there is no ground left to stand on. “Very well,” Roy said, “I’ll stop questioning you, but don’t think I’m letting this go.” “Now get the broccoli and pork from the icebox and thaw them out while I get some water boiling,” Roy added before heading to the kitchen. Rin hesitated before nodding.   
Roy frowned, He hadn’t gotten him to admit it, but that was fine. He had other methods of finding out the truth.  
….  
Edward and Alphonse sat awkwardly in the Colonel’s office the next morning. He had sent someone to pick them up from Tucker’s house to take them to speak with the Colonel. “What do you think he wants to talk to us about?” Al asked.  
Edward frowned as he slumped in his chair. “I don’t know, but it can’t be good,” he said crossing his arms over his chest.  
At that moment, Roy walked into the room. “Hello boys,” he said, “How have you been doing?”  
“Good until you had one of your men drag us over here,” Ed grumbled.  
“Sorry to inconvenience you, but I needed to speak with you on an important matter,” Roy said, “I’m sure you can spare a few moments away from sleeping in for that.” He smirked as Edward scowled at him. “Now, onto what I needed to discuss with you,” Roy said, “I understand you two have become really close with my son Rin.”  
“Ummm yes, sir. That is correct,” Alphonse said nervously.  
“Is there a problem with that?” Edward questioned.  
“Not at all, I’m glad you three are getting along,” he said, “but I have to ask you to stop helping him prepare for the State Alchemy Exam.”  
Alphonse shifted slightly in surprise and fear, but thankfully he didn’t have a readable facial expression, otherwise Roy would have caught him. He couldn’t tell if the shift in posture was in offence at the suggestion or fear of having been caught. Edward’s expression didn’t help either as he just scowled.   
“What makes you think we’re helping him?” Edward questioned.  
“Havock saw him meet up with you at a library after dropping you off,” he said, “and later I see him coming home with an advanced set of alchemy tomes that he certainly couldn’t have gotten from a bookstore.”  
If Alphonse could, he would be sweating nervously right now. Edward, on the other hand, just continued to scowl. “I’m afraid you’re misinformed,” he responded, “We don’t know anything about him taking the exam. We didn’t even think he was interested.”  
“Then why was he spending hours with you at a library?” Roy retorted, “No offense, but that isn’t exactly a place people spend hours at to hang out or talk. You aren’t even supposed to be talking to people at a library if I’m correct.”  
“Well…” Alphonse said, clearly uncomfortable, “You see, the thing about that is…”  
“Oh, just give it up Alphonse,” Ed finally said, “He caught us. No point in hiding anymore.” The boy in the metal suit looked at his brother in disbelief. “The truth is, Rin had brought some book from the National Library….” he said, “To help us study.” “Rin knows we aren’t allowed to have books from the National Library to help us, but Rin has been sneeking us some every day to aid us,” Edward said, “That’s why he’s been spending so much time in the library with us.” Edward had been looking Roy dead in the eye as he spoke.  
“Uh...Yeah!” Alphonse added, “Please don’t tell on us!”  
Roy frowned and sighed. This wasn’t turning out as he wanted. He had hoped Alphonse would have cracked under his gaze, but that hadn’t worked. He supposed that lying was to be expected, and he had a little, but he wouldn’t have thought they would have had the exact same excuse as Rin, especially since they hadn’t had time to converse with him before Roy had confronted them. Looks like he’d have to use other means to get it out of them.  
“Fine,” he said, “I won't tell anyone about you using books from the National Library. You may go.” Both boys got up to leave. “But,” he said, “If I find out that you’re lying to me, and that you have been assisting him in taking the exam, then there will be consequences for the two of you.”  
Ed smirked at him and laughed. “What are you going to do? Ground us?” he retorted.  
“No. I have no authority over you to do that,” Roy said with a smirk, “But I do have the means to make sure you won’t be taking the exam at all.”  
The Elric brothers froze. “You’re bluffing,” Edward said.  
Roy gave a dry laugh. “No, I’m not,” Roy said voice very serious, “Do you two not understand how easy it would be to get you struck from the exam, barring this information you now gave me about cheating?”  
Ed’s mind processed Roy’s words and immediately assumed the worst. His eyes fixated on the flame alchemist intensely as his heart filled with fear. “You wouldn’t…,” he growled, “You promised you would tell no one!”  
“Of course I wouldn’t do that!” Roy snapped, as if offended by even the suggestion of going back on his word, “I’m not a monster Ed. All I’d want is to strike you from the exam this spring, not ruin your lives. I can do that pretty simply by retracting your application.” “You both registered under me, with my recommendation. All I’d have to do is retract that recommendation and your applications would be void,” he said, “And you wouldn’t be able to reapply under someone else because applications for the exam closed two weeks ago. You’d have to wait an entire year to get certified and I know neither of you want to waste a year doing nothing instead of searching for a way to fix your situation.”   
Edward glared at Roy. That bastard! He had them right under his thumb. “So Ed, what do you say to that?” the colonel finished with a satisfied grin.  
Edward paused to glare at him for a moment before speaking. “I’d say that’s fine,” Edward said tersly, “We aren’t helping him, after all, so we have nothing to worry about.”  
Roy frowned. “Very well then…” he said, “You may go.” The two boys left without another word.  
As they walked down the hall, they remained silent. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Alphonse was slightly relieved though. He was worried they would be caught. Thank goodness they had come up with that lie in advanced with Rin. But something was still bothering him.   
“Brother?” he said, “Does this mean we aren’t helping Rin anymore?”.  
“Of course we’re still going to help him!” Ed responded, surprising Al.  
“But..if the colonel finds out…” Al started.  
“And he’s going to find out if we just all of a sudden stop!” Ed said, “It would look suspicious at the very least if we stopped hanging out with him like we regularly do right after he threatened us like that! We have no choice but to stick with it now.” “Besides,” Edward said, “I’m not going to let that bastard control me. Even if I may one day be taking orders from him, I’m not going to just roll over for him and let him get whatever he wants!”  
…  
Roy rubbed his temple. He had really hoped that threat would have worked. He should have known that boy would be just as stubborn as Rin. He wouldn’t have thought he would have been such a good liar though. Roy sighed. Maybe Rin was telling the truth…He supposed there was no way to know for sure without costant surveillance.  
Roy’s eyes widened as a thought struck him. Maybe there was a way! The application forums! They were all stored in Central Command.Roy smirked as he got up. All he would have to do was find out where.  
…  
When Yukio came home from target practice, he had not expected to see his father brooding on the couch. Rin was also nowhere to be seen. Something was definitely wrong. “Dad?” he called, “Is everything alright? Where’s Rin?”  
“He’s upstairs,” Roy said in a dull voice, “He’s refusing to talk to me. Again.”  
Yukio frowned. “What happened?” he asked.  
“I interrogated his friends this morning about whether he was taking the State Alchemy Exam, and he’s angry about that,” Roy huffed, “It turned out to have been a pointless endeavor anyways. I can’t find any evidence proving Rin guilty.” It was true. There was nothing. Roy had gone searching for the application forums that afternoon. He had been directed to a small, blonde woman working in general Raven’s office. Apparently, she had all the applications on file. She had Alphonse’s, Edward’s, and those of dozens of other men...but not one for Rin. There was no application for him. In the end he had put the boy through so much grief for nothing. Some dad he turned out to be…   
Yukio relaxed slightly at the thought that his brother hadn’t been caught yet, but he was still uncomfortable. He still didn’t know if this was right. He didn!t know if this was truly best for Rin. Infact, he was almost certain it wasn’t. “Maybe you should go and apologize to him,” Yukio suggested.  
“I don’t think he’s in a forgiving mood,” Roy responded.  
Yukio shrugged. “It would be a start,” he said, forcing a smile, “I think he would really appreciate it.”   
Roy nodded and stood up to head upstairs. Yukio’s smile fell and he bit his lip as he watched his father leave. He really didn’t like lying like this to Roy. He felt like he was betraying him by keeping quiet for Rin. He had done so much for them and now he felt like he was stabbing him in the back for something he didn’t even know would be good. “Dad?” he spoke up, causing the man to pause, “There’s something I need to tell you...Something important.”  
Roy turned to him with a concerned look. “What is it Yukio?” he asked.  
Yukio bit his lip, pausing for a moment before speaking. “....It’s the Elric brothers. They have temptants,” he blurted out instead. He chickened out. He couldn’t betray Rin.  
Roy’s eyes widened in surprise. “When did this happen?” he asked, “How did you find out?”  
“When they came over for dinner, they saw Kuro’s true form. Rin had to explain him away as a chimera,” he explained, “I think they got their temptants from the human transmutation they performed, but I’m not sure…” Then his brow furrowed. “But despite being able to see them, they have no idea what demons are,” Yukio continued.  
Roy nodded and stroked his chin. “I suppose they wouldn’t. They wouldn’t really have had anyone to explain it to them at the time,” he thought aloud, “Thank you for telling me this Yukio. I appreciate it.”  
The spectacled boy nodded. “No problem,” he said as his father turned to walk up the stairs. Yukio then went to the kitchen to get himself dinner. Maybe food would help him get his mind off the situation.


	20. A winter's tale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! Twenty chapters completed! Thanks for sticking around guys. I hope you've enjoyed them. Let me know what you think!

Six months had passed since the twins and the Elrics had first met. Fall had turned into winter which was slowly coming to a close. During that time, Rin and Yukio had spent plenty of time with the Elric brothers around town and at Shou Tucker’s estate. Though hanging around the Sewing Life Alchemist’s home was a little weird, Rin had grown used to it. He liked the spacious atmosphere and had gotten used to Alexander’s tackle hugs. He even came to like Nina a lot. Despite being the older of the pair of twins, he had never really been the big brother. Yukio was always the taller, the more mature, and usually the more knowledgeable. Now he had someone akin to a little sibling looking up to him with admiration. It was a new experience for him and he really enjoyed it. He loved showing her fire alchemy tricks and games from when he was little, like today.  
He had planned on stopping by to show them what he working on for his demonstration. He had figured out how to burn lines in the ground to form different shapes. “Hey guys!” Rin said as he walked up to the Tucker estate in his warm winter clothing. He was surprised to see them outside on the lawn in the snow. He expected them to still be kooped up inside with their noses stuck in books. “What are you-” he stopped himself as he realized why they were laying on the ground, “Wait, are you guys making snow angels?”  
Ed sat up. “Yeah? Why?” he asked.  
Rin started snickering. “I haven’t made a snow angel since I was little!” Rin said, “I didn’t expect you guys to be into that stuff.”  
Edward gave an annoyed look but Alphonse wasn’t phased. “Really? It’s the first time for us. We really haven’t gotten the chance to before,” he explained, “It only snowed once in Risembool when we were really little.”  
Rin blinked in surprise. “Really?” he asked leaning on the fence, “You guys never really had snow?”  
“Well yeah,” Ed said, “Risembool is so far south that it rarely touches freezing point in the winter.”  
“Huh…” Rin mused, “That’s so weird! I mean, I knew this place got less snow than back home, but…”  
“How much snow would you get?” Al asked as he sat up.  
“It depended,” he said, “But we usually got at least three feet or so a year.”  
The Elric brothers looked shocked. “Three feet?!” Alphonse gasped, “Brother, that’s over half your height!” Ed was too shocked to respond to the jab at his height. He had only ever see a few inches of snow! How could someone manage three feet of the stuff?!  
“Yeah, shoveling that junk was not fun…” Rin said, remembering the one year when everyone in the monastery had caught the flu he and yukio had the previous week and the two of them had to help shovel the driveway to the church with Shiro. Having fits of demon strength helped, but it hadn’t stopped him from getting frustrated and breaking his shovel. “Be glad you guys never had to deal with that!” he muttered. Then he smiled smugly as his mood changed. “But since I have the most experience with snow, I guess that makes me the king of snow around here for now,” he said.  
Edward raised an annoyed eyebrow at him. “King of Snow? Really? What are you, five?” he said.  
Rin stuck his tongue out at him. “No, You’re just jealous of my title!” he retorted.  
“Can I be pwincess of snow?” Nina asked, running up to Rin.  
“Sure!” he said messing up her hair, “Together we’ll school these losers with our frozen awesomeness!  
“Hey!” Ed snapped, a playful glint in his eyes, “Who are you calling a loser? You know I’m a better alchemist than you!”  
“Yeah, well I bet you’re crap in all this snow!” Rin retorted.  
Nina gasped. “Win!” she cried, “You said a bad word! Bad Win!” She shook her finger at him.  
Rin was taken aback by her chastisement and started trying to apologize, pleading with her that she not tell her father. Edward burst out laughing at this. “You call us losers and yet we’re not the ones being chastised by a little girl,” he sneered.  
Rin fumed at him. “Hey! Shut up!” he snapped, “If you think you’re so great, then how about you prove it in a snowball fight! Two on two! Nina and I versus you and Al.” Nina smiled at the idea and began to cheer.  
Ed stopped laughing and shared a confused look with Al. “What’s a-” he started before getting a face full of snow. He was flung off his feet and Al was taken off guard as one hit him too. Ed scowled as he sat up only to get pelted again. He growled as Nina giggled and Rin snickered. “That’s it!” he cried, “This means war!” He scrambled to his feet and clapped his hands before touching the ground, creating dozens of snowballs.   
There was an evil glint in his eye and Rin shuddered. “Oh boy!” he squeaked.  
….  
When Maes and Yukio walked by the house ten minutes later to pick the boys up, they were not expecting the mess they swa. The yard was trashed. Snow was everywhere, especially on the side of the house. Patches of the the lawn were exposed from where the snow had been transmuted. Two snow forts stood on opposite ends of the lawn, both pretty beat up.  
Maes whistled and Yukio sighed. “I wonder whether I really want to know what’s going on here,” he muttered.  
“Yukio! Uncle Hughes!” Rin called from behind one of the forts, “Thank goodness you showed up. Come over here and help us out!”  
“Hey! No fair!” Ed cried peaking out from his own, “You can’t just invite more team members! That’s against the rules!”  
“Shows what you know! You said it yourself that this is war! There are no rule!” Rin shouted back before dodging a snowball.  
“Then I say we should get a new team member too! Yukio! Help us out!” Ed demanded.  
“No way! Don’t betray your only brother, Yukio!” Rin pleaded.  
Hughes started snickering as Yukio sighed once more. “I’m not coming over to any side, cause this game is over!” he said, “come one, we have to go!”  
Rin and Nina groaned while Ed and Al cheered. “You too guys!” Maes called to the brothers, “Come on, we have to head over to my place.”  
The two brothers blinked at him in surprise. “Why’s that Major?” Al asked.  
“Cause I’m throwing a party for your brother’s birthday and it wouldn’t be much of a party if the birthday boy and his brother weren’t there!” he said.  
“Oh that’s right!” Al cried, “It’s February 2nd! Your birthday!”  
“Crud you’re right!” Ed responded, “I’ve been so busy that I forgot!” Then Ed frowned. “But wait...Major, how did you know that?” he asked, “I haven’t told anyone that.”  
“I’m in investigations kid!” he said, “Wouldn’t be very good at my job if I could‘t find out someone’s birthday! Now let's go.”  
“Can I come?” Nina asked.  
“Sure! Consider Yourself invited!” Hughes said.  
“Shit!” Rin cried before clasping a hand over his mouth, “sorry Nina…”  
“Rin, what’s wrong?” Hughes asked.  
“I knew we were forgetting something!” he said, “We forgot to invite Ed and Al to our birthday party a few months ago!”  
Yukio’s eyes widened as the realization dawned on him. “Oh man, you’re right!” he said, feeling terrible, “we totally blew it! Sorry guys. We aren’t used to actually inviting people because we usually just celebrate it with our dad’s friends…”  
“Yeah, even before with Shiro, we would usually just celebrate it with the guys at the monastery!” Rin said.  
“When was it anyways?” Al asked.  
“December 27th…” Rin said, “We’re really sorry guys. We didn’t mean to have you miss it. Now I feel bad about going to your party when you didn’t get to go to ours!”  
“It’s fine!” Al said, trying to make them feel better.  
“Yeah! We were all so busy. You were bound to forget something,” Ed said, “If the Major hadn’t reminded me, I would have skipped my own all together!”  
“Yeah! Cheer up you two,” Hughes said, clapping a hand on each of their shoulders, “You guys can make up for it anyways by helping around the house.” The two nodded and the little entourage headed off.  
….  
“Hey Aunt Gracia!” Rin called as he entered the familiar home.  
The woman stepped out from where she was working on making frosting for the cake. “Rin! Yukio! It’s so good to see you!” she said as she stepped out into the living room.  
“Everyone, this is my lovely wife Gracia!” Hughes introduced. He moved to sling his arm around her and give her a kiss on the cheek, causing her to chuckle slightly. Rin rolled his eyes while Yukio simply smiled.   
Edward bore a look of shock. “Your stomach's a melon!” he blurted out.  
Yukio gave him a pointed look, but Gracia simply smiled warmly and nodded. “Are you having a baby soon?” Al asked.  
“Yup!” she responded, “There's a big fuss inside my belly saying she wants to come out and see the world.”  
“Really?” Nina asked, “Can I feew it?” Garcia nodded and moved closer so the four year old could reach her hand up and touch her belly. She held her hand there for a moment and bore a look of wonder as she felt the tiny life move beneath the woman’s skin. “I fewt it! It moved!” she exclaimed before giggling, “It feews funny!”  
Gracia gave an amused hum before her husband spoke up. “Rin, how about you go and help Gracia in the kitchen,” he said, “And Yukio, would you mind helping me get the folding chairs up from the basement?” Both boys nodded and moved to help.  
….  
The rest of afternoon past wonderfully. Edward hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. The food was amazing. He swore that Rin and Gracia were the best cooks on the face of the planet! He enjoyed sitting and talking with the couple as well as the brothers. He couldn’t think of a more perfect day. “Who wants refills on their birthday tea?” Gracia called.  
“Sure! Thanks Mrs. Hughes!” Ed said.  
“Yeah! I’d like some too Aunt Gracia,” Rin called. Yukio nodded in agreement.  
“Hey Rin,” Al asked, “Why do you call them Aunt Gracia and Uncle Hughes? Is one of them related to Colonel Mustang?”  
“Huh? Nah!” Rin said, “Neither of them are related to Dad. They’re just really close friends of his.”  
Yukio nodded. “Gracia used to be our nanny. She still comes to babysit us in the mornings sometimes, but Dad trusts us enough that she usually heads back home after lunch,” he explained. Ed and Al both nodded before they heard a yelp and a crash.  
“Gracia!” Hughes cried, getting up.  
Gracia was on the floor, the spilt tea beside her. “Honey! It's here!” she gasped..  
“The tea?” Hughes said dumbly.  
Gracia grimaced, a look the boys could not remember seeing on her before. “The baby!” she hissed.  
Everyone in the room tensed up. “What?! Now?!” Rin cried.  
“But, but the doctor said next week!” Hughes responded.   
“Well the baby just said now,” Gracia hissed, “And I'm pretty sure she gets to choose!”  
“Okay!” Maes said, shooting up, boys, help me get her bags!”   
“But the snow! It's a blizzard outside!” Al cried.  
“She could die out there!” Yukio added.  
“Right, she can't leave,” Maes said, biting his lip and stroking his chin, “I'll bring the doctor here! You kids help her!” He then immediately ran for the door.  
“Wait what?!” Rin cried, “Uncle Hughes!”  
“How do we do that?!” Ed added, but it was too late. He was already out the door. They all stood dumbstruck for a moment. Then Gracia cried out agian.  
Everyone shouted out in response. “Oh man!” Rin worried, pulling on his hair and beginning to pace, “Shit! What are we going to do?! I can’t handle baby stuff! I’m not a doctor or a nurse or whatever!”  
“Ok, we just need to calm down!” Yukio, said, obviously not very calm. Gracia called out again, freaking everyone out even more.  
“Mrs Hughes are you alright?!” Al cried while Nina whimpered in fear.  
Rin suddenly grabbed Yukio by his shirt. “Come on man! Help us out here!” he demanded, shaking his brother.  
“What?! Me?! Why me?” Yukio responded, fear and confusion clear in his voice, “What can I do?!”  
“I don’t know! You’re the brainiac who’s been looking at all those medical alchemy texts!” Rin snapped, “Why can’t you do something like that?!”  
“Or maybe you can give her some herbs to help her?” Al offered.  
“1. I’ve barely started with it! 2.That’s not how medical alchemy works, Rin!” Yukio shouted, “I can’t just transmute the baby out of her!”  
“WELL WHY NOT?!”  
“WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GET ME TO A COUCH!” Gracia shouted, getting their attention. The two blinked before nodding and moving into action. Rin and Al went to lift her and take her to the couch.  
“Ed?” Yukio said, snapping the boy back to reality, “Can you go with Nina to get some hot water and towels?” The boy nodded dumbly before taking Nina’s hand and running off.  
…  
Everything was going fine, Yukio told himself. Yup. Totally fine. Smooth sailing.  
“I can't do this! I'm dying!”  
“F-for real?! No please don’t!”  
“What are we supposed to do? She said she's gonna die!”  
“That's just an expression!”  
“WAAAAAAAH!”  
Yup. The situation was totally under control. He was not having a panic attack. He was calm. Calm like a stream.  
“Ahhhhhhhh!”  
“HOLY SHIT SHE PASSED OUT!”  
“No! Mrs. Hughes! Stay with us!”  
“Listen, she's not dead, she just fell asleep!”  
Calm like a torrential stream racing down to a deadly, rocky waterfall.  
“What do we do?! What do we do?!”  
“I don't know. If you think of it like alchemy, making a life's expensive.  
You'd have to give something up!”  
“Childbirth is not alchemy you dope!”  
“EVERYONE SHUT UP!” Yukio cried before stepping out of the room and into the hall. His brother called to him to come back, but he didn’t listen. He fell to the floor and started cradling himself. He had no idea what to do. His alchemy was useless right now. Any herbs or medicine he knew how to make were for injuries or illness. He felt like an idiot and yet everyone was looking to him for answers. Yukio breathed in deeply and out again for several minutes. Everything was going to be fine. It had to be. Right?   
Suddenly the phone began to ring. Yukio stood up. Maybe that was Maes! Maybe he had a doctor with him and he could tell him what to do! Yukio ran to the phone. “Hello?” he answered desperately,  
“Oh thank goodness, Yukio!” the voice on the other end said.  
Yukio crooked an eyebrow. “Dad?” he asked, “Why are you calling?”  
“To make sure you’re alive!” he said, “There’s a blizzard out right now and neither of you are home yet! What’s going on over there?”  
Yukio sighed. “It’s a long story.”  
...  
This was supposed to be a beautiful thing. That's what everyone said. But all Rin could do was sit, paralyzed in fear as his aunt cried out in pain. His guts twisted in sympathy with each shout. His mind was blank. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to help. For once in a very long time he felt like a helpless child again. Why couldn’t an adult be here? Like Riza or Fuery or even his Dad! Anyone! Wait...not just anyone. He knew who he wished was here right now: Shiro.   
He might not have known what to do, but he would have been able to keep his cool. He was always able to keep his cool! Even when their world was crashing down around them, and he knew he was probably going to die, he had remained calm for them. Rin gripped his arms tightly. He hadn’t felt so homesick in a long time. For a moment, he could almost smell the burning of incense.  
...No wait...that was clearly just smoke. He gasped and uncurled himself as he noticed had accidentally started burning his own jacket when he was squeezing his arms. Shit! He took it off and wrapped it around his waist. Great. Not only was he useless, but now he was losing control of his powers again! Could this day get any worse?!  
“Oh no!” Nina cried, “Da water's getting cold!”  
Rin sighed before pulling out his ignition gloves and putting them on. At least he could be of some use. “Here, let me,” he said, reaching for the basin. However, as he started pulling it towards him, steam once again started to rise from it. Rin blinked in confusion before Ed and Al noticed.  
“Hey!” Al cried, “How did you do that?”  
“Yeah! You just touched it and it warmed up!” Ed added, “You didn’t even snap your fingers!”  
“Uhh….” he started, “Fire alchemy secret?”  
Ed and Al were about to question him further when Gracia cried out. “I can feel its head now!”  
….  
“Sounds like you’ve had a long day,” Roy said on the other end of the line.  
“Yeah…” Yukio winced as he heard Gracia cry again, “I just don’t know how I’ll be able to do this…I’m not a doctor! What if the baby dies because I wasn’t helpful?”  
“Trust me, Yukio,” he said, “You can do this. You’re very smart and you’ll figure some way to help her out.”  
“But this isn’t like anything I’ve done before!” he responded, “Everyone’s expecting me to know what to do but I’m as clueless as they are.”  
“So?” Roy responded, “There will be a lot of things in life you’ll have to face that are unlike anything you’ve ever done, but you still have to do them.” The spectacled twin nodded. “And if you really are worried about her,” he said, “Then you better get off the phone now and go help her. Because the only way you can fail now is to not be there to help at all.”  
Yukio smiled. “Thanks dad,” he said.  
“I can feel its head now!” Gracia cried.  
“And that’s my cue!” he said, “Gotta go dad!” He hung up the phone and ran into the room, where unsurprisingly, everyone was panicking.  
“Where the hell have you been?!” Rin cired.  
“Honestly? Having a nervous breakdown,” he admitted, “But I’m good now.”  
“Well I’m glad one of us is!” Ed snapped.  
“What do we do?” Alphonse cried  
“I don‘t know! I’m not touching baby stuff!” his older brother responded.  
“Everyone be quiet!” Yukio said walking over and kneeling next to Gracia. “Rin I’m going to need those towels pretty quickly.” Rin nodded and scooped them up, bringing them over to his brother and standing beside him. “Ed, Al, you keep Nina calm,” he instructed. “Aunt Gracia, on the count of three, I want you to push,” he said, “One...Two...Three...Push!” Gracia screamed one last time before a baby’s cry filled the air. Everyone was in awe of the new life that had entered the room.   
...Except for Rin. Rin fell over in a dead faint.  
…  
“I can’t believe she’s so beautiful, Gracia!” Hughes gushed and cooed over his daughter, tears streaming down his face. It had been a full hour and he had not put her down.  
“Hey, let me hold her!” Rin complained as he snatched the baby away from her father. Maes Hughes gave a look of betrayal as Rin smiled down at the baby. “Awww, hey there little Elica!” he cooed, “It’s me, your cousin Rin! We’re going to have so much fun when you’re older! It’s going to be great.” She fussed slightly in his arms. “Aren’t you just the cutest thing!” he chuckled.  
“You certainly didn’t think so when you first saw her and fainted,” Yukio teased.  
Rin scowled at him. “Shut up! I was under a lot of stress!” he huffed, holding Elica close to him, “You’re just jealous you haven’t gotten a chance to hold her!”  
Gracia snickered in amusement. “Thanks kids,” she said with a tired smile, “I couldn't have done it without the other birthday boy, my nephews, and their friends.”  
“We didn't do anything,” Al said, “It was mostly Yukio.”  
“You were right by my side,” Gracia said, “And I can’t thank you enough for that.”  
Yukio looked on as Maes argued with his nephew for his daughter back before sitting down next to Alphonse and Edward.  
“You think with how attached he’s already gotten with her, she was of his own flesh and blood,” Yukio noted.  
Ed chuckled. “Yeah. Imagine what he’ll be like when he has his own kids,” Ed said.  
“Oh,” Yukio said shaking his head, “I fear the day Rin decides to have a family.” Al and Ed snickered.  
“This alchemy stuff didn't really help her out at all, all we could do was just sit there,” Ed noted.  
“Yeah,” Al muttered. Yukio hummed in agreement.  
“Now moms, on the other hand,” Ed continued with a smile, “there's your miracle. Gracia did something tonight alchemists couldn't do in a thousand years, no strings attached.”  
“Our mom did that too,” Al noted. Yukio frowned slightly but nodded, staring off. Al noticed this. “Yukio? Is something wrong?” he asked.  
“Hm?” he said, snapping back to reality, “Oh it's nothing. Don’t worry about me.” He smiled to assure them.  
“No, something’s eating at you,” Ed said, “Come on. Spill it.”  
Yukio looked back at Gracia who had now taken child from a sulking Rin and was showing her to Nina. “Well...I guess I was just thinking about my own mother,” he said. Ed and Al looked at him curiously. “It’s strange to think about...but Rin and I know nothing about our mother,” he admitted, “We don’t know who she was or what she looked like...heck, we don’t even know her name.”  
Ed frowned. “Didn’t Shiro ever tell you about her?” he asked.  
Yukio gave a tired smile and shook his head no. “He always avoided the subject or kept changing the story of how he found us,” he said, “One time he tried to tell us that he found us inside a melon!” Yukio looked off into the distance again. “He came close though,” he whispered, “One time, right around the holidays there was a gentle snow storm, and he said how it had been snowing like that when he found us.”  
Al and Ed fell silent for a moment. Finally Edward spoke up. “Why?” he said scowling, “Why would he keep that kind of information from you? She was your mother. You had a right to know! If he cared about you, why didn’t he tell you?”  
Yukio gave a dry laugh. “It’s funny that you say that, because I think that was the exact reason why he never told us,” he explained, “I don’t think he wanted us to worry about it. Like he was somehow protecting us by not telling us about our parents...after all that’s the way it was with our father. He didn’t want us to feel guilty about our heritage to him so he only told us about him once he had no other choice…”  
“Doesn’t seem to kind to me…” Edward muttered.  
Yukio shrugged. “Ignorance is bliss, I suppose,” he said before frowning and looking down, “Though now I wonder what she was like. If she truly loved our dad or hated him, if she was tricked by him, if she was friends with Shiro, if she wanted us or not...but I’m not sure that if I find out, I’d like any of the answers I might get.”  
There was a silence between the three of them. Then Al spoke up. “Well...whoever she was...I’d like to thank her,” he said, “because without her, you and Rin wouldn’t be here. Cause one of the few nice things about this mess we’re in, is that we wouldn’t have gotten to meet you guys otherwise.”  
Yukio stared at him for a second, utterly shocked by his words. He blinked as Al’s words sunk in. Yukio’s eyes watered slightly as a smile broke out across his face. “Thanks Al…” he whispered, “That...that really means alot. I’m touched.”  
“You’re welcome!” he chimed.   
“Yukio?” Gracia called, “Would you like to hold Elicia?”  
He smiled. “I’ll be right there,” He got up and walked over to the couch. “Hey there,” he said as he gently lifted the baby girl into his arms. She was red and squishy and had her eyes closed tightly shut. “It’s good to see you again,” he said, “It was an honor to be the first one to meet you...though I could have done without the screaming in my face.” He chuckled and sat down in a chair next to the couch. It was mesmerising, holding something so tiny and fragile, yet so furiously thrumming with life. Edward was right. It was a miracle. A marvel that no one would ever be able to reproduce another way.  
Rin walked up behind him and rested his chest on the top of the couch. “Its awesome isn’t it?” he said. Yukio nodded. “I...don’t suppose you’d be willing to hand her to me again when you’re done. Uncle Hughes will just go back to hogging her again other wise,” he asked lightly.   
Yukio rolled his eyes. “Christ, you’re almost as bad as him…” he muttered, “I think she would much rather just being put down for a nap. I think she’d done with us old ugly people getting in her face.”  
Rin frowned. “I’m not the one with the weird moles on his face,” he retorted.  
“Hey Rin,” Yukio said more seriously, “I think I’ve decided. I’m going to go to Xing to learn Alkahestry.”  
His brother raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he asked.  
“Yeah…” he said, “After today, after seeing this, I realised just how wonderful life can be...and how much it needs protecting. I want to learn alkahestry and bring it back to Amestris to help people as a doctor. I’ll be gone for a few years...but it will be worth it.”  
Rin was quiet for a second before speaking up. “I say go for it,” he said, “I think it’s great that you want to save lives and stuff. You can be a hero that way. You go learn alkahestry and come back as the greatest doctor Amestris has ever seen! Just make sure to give Dad and I discounts!”   
Yukio rolled his eyes. “Only if you stay out of trouble,” he responded.   
“Don’t worry!” he waved his brother off, “Dad and I will be fine! We’re fire alchemists after all! Nothing can stop us.”  
“Nothing except a glass of water,” Yukio retorted. Rin narrowed his eyes at him and flicked his shoulder.  
“Whatever…” he said, “Just remember to call and write and stuff...and bring back awesome recipes to try out.”  
Yukio smiled at him. “Sure,” he responded.


	21. The state alchemy exam

It was early May, a week before the State Alchemist Exam, and Yukio had just finished packing his bags to leave for Xing. He was lucky enough to be accepted into a school for Alkahestry, and Roy had promised to pay for his needs while he was over there by giving him access to his bank account.   
He snapped his last suitcase close and sat down on his bed. He looked up to see Rin sitting across from him on his own bed. A sad smile crossed his face. There was a silence between them for a few moments.“So I guess this is it then,” he said.  
“Yeah…” Yukio muttered.  
“Off to bigger and better things.”  
“uh-huh.”  
“....”  
“....”  
“...You know It’ll be weird not having you nagging me all the time,” Rin said, “But I guess I’ll still have Dad for that.” He laughed awkwardly before the room fell into silence again.  
“Rin?” Yukio finally said.  
“Yeah?”   
“Promise me you won’t get into too much trouble,” he said.  
Rin smiled cheekily. “When have I ever been a troublemaker?” he asked. Yukio glared at him. “Ok, Ok,” he said holding up his hands in defense, “I really will try to keep out of trouble, Ok?”  
“Good,” Yukio said, “Also….Please, try to not upset Dad too much.” “I know Dad’s going to be pissed about this whole state alchemist thing regardless. Don’t even try to deny that,” he said, “But you know he loves and cares for us. Don’t push him away just because he’s going to be angry.”  
Rin sighed. “Yeah...I know,” he said looking down and away. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. “Now come on,” he said forcing a smile, and hopping off the bed, “Let's go get you to the train station before you’re too late and have to spend another day with us losers.” He clapped his twin on the back and picked up one of his suit cases. Yukio smiled back and him as the headed to the door.  
….  
the train whistled loudly as it prepared to leave the station. “Good luck!” Al called, “Be safe!” Everyone was standing at the station to wish him well. Not just the Elric brothers, but Uncle Hughes, Riza, Roy, and the colonel team. Alex was currently crying, blowing his nose in the background.  
“I will!” Yukio shouted from the window.  
“Make sure to teach us and tell about Alkahestry when you get back!” Ed Holland and tells he waved.  
“You got it!” he chuckled in amusement.  
The rest of the group also started to call out their goodbyes as the train left the station.“Say goodbye Elicia!” Maes said, lifting her hand up to wave at him.  
Yukio smiled at his Uncle's antics. Then he spotted his Dad among the group. He was smiling brightly but Yukio could see there was some sadness. “Bye Dad!” he called, “I’ll be back soon. I’ll make sure to call before I reach the desert!”  
Roy nodded before waving goodbye. He watched the train until it was out of sight. This whole day had been a strange mix of emotions for him. He was very proud of Yukio. When he had first gained custody of the boy, he had never imagined he would end up being invited to study in a school in Xing! Still there was a hollow feeling inside of him that grew a bit larger as he watched the train leave. He couldn’t quite place the emotion. It was mix of sadness and worry...and there was just a hint of a sour thought lingering in the back of his mind. A foreboding sense that things were going to change and never be the same.   
He pushed it aside though. There was no point in distressing himself about something he couldn’t hope to change. He just had to stand up and keep moving forward as always. Though that didn’t stop his smile from falling as the train disappeared from view and the hollow feeling to grow deeper.  
Then, all of a sudden, there was a hand on his shoulder. He looked to his left where he saw Riza standing next to him. While she didn’t smile or say anything, there was still a comforting look in her eyes. Roy nodded in thanks before turning to go.  
….  
Over the next week, Roy had noticed how quiet the house had been. Which was strange, considering that Yukio was the quieter of the two. He had expected it to get noisier without Yukio to keep Rin in check, but it didn’t. However, it did get messier as expected. Clothes now hung off of chairs and dishes were left out. He’d already had to yell at Rin three times to pick up his things.  
A few arguments had sprung up here and there, but the week had gone mostly smoothly. That didn’t stop Roy from being surprised when he woke up monday morning to find Rin preparing breakfast. He had woken up completely confused by the smell of frying grease. At first he thought an oil fire might have started, but found that was not the case at all.  
“Morning!” Rin called as he saw the bleary eyed man staring at him in disbelief.  
“Rin?” he asked, “What are you doing up so early?” he glanced at the clock. It was only six in the morning. Usually Roy had to wake him up.  
“Couldn’t sleep very well,” he admitted, “So I decided to get up and make breakfast.”   
“Why’s that?” he asked.  
“Oh, just couldn’t get comfortable is all,” he responded, “You know, it was just one of those nights.” While his first answer had been true, his second was a lie. The written exam today had been on him mind all night, only allowing him a few hours of rest. Finally he had gotten sick of worrying and decided to cook to calm himself down. Plus it wouldn’t hurt to have his dad in a good mood before he went out and defied him in possibly one of the most life changing things he’d ever done.  
“Well thanks,” Roy said, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes as Rin brought the frying pan with hash browns to the table. He scooped out his own portion and began shoveling it down as Roy grabbed his own portion. Once he was finished, he quickly threw his shoes on and ran for the door. “See ya Dad!” he said, “Have a nice day!”  
“Where are you going? It's not even seven yet!” Roy called.  
“I’m going to central command to wish Ed and Al good luck. Then I’m going to the park with Nina till the test is over and meetup with them after,” he lied.  
“...Alright…” Roy said furrowing his brow. There was nothing wrong with what Rin had said, but he couldn’t help but think there was more to it than that.  
“Alright bye!” Rin called as he shut the door behind him, leaving a still half awake Roy alone in the house.  
…  
The three boys looked up at the building apprehensively. Rin’s guts twisted in nervousness. Nina and Alexander stood beside them. He had never been good with tests, Give him a demon anyday over a test to take! He took a deep breath. At least the worst that could happen is that he failed and could forget this ever happened, and Roy would be none the wiser. “I guess this is it…” Ed said.  
“Yeah…” Rin breathed, “Good luck guys.”  
The brothers nodded. “You too,” Al said.  
“Thanks…” Rin said giving a dry laugh, “I’m gonna need it.”  
The three began to take the first step up into the testing building. “Wait!” Nina said, stopping them, “I have something fo you!” She reached into her coat and pulled out three pieces of paper, handing one to each of them. On each one was a hand made drawing of them and her with the poorly spelled words “Good Luck” scrawled at the top of each one.   
“Aw!” Al said, “Thanks Nina!”  
“Yeah, this was really sweet of you,” Ed said.  
Rin smiled down at the piece of paper before going to hug the girl. It was a simple drawing, but it meant a lot that she would take the time to make it for him. “Thanks Nina!” he said, “I love it!” He then let go of her and folded it up to put in his pocket.  
“Well,” Ed said, “Time’s a wastin.” With that he turned and headed up into the building. Rin nodded and followed after him, confidence renewed. He sat down in his seat as the tests were passed out and took a deep breath. Whatever happens, happens. At least he had people there to support him afterwards. With that thought, he opened the test booklet and began his test. Yeah. Things were going to go ok.  
….  
...That went horribly. Rin’s shoulders slumped as he trudged out of the building. He had never taken a harder test in his life. Nina was back from her time in the park with Alexander and her father. “Awe you guys ok?” she asked.  
“No,” Rin stated bluntly, sounding as tired as he felt.  
“I didn’t even finish…” Ed bemoaned.  
“I finished, but I have no idea how I did,” Al sighed,  
“At least you guys came close!” Rin lamented, “I only got half way through the test before they said five minutes left! I just started furiously filling in bubbles after that! I really hope there isn’t a guessing penalty...not that it matters. I probably failed.”  
“Nooo!” Nina cried, “Don't say dat!”  
“Yeah…” Al said, “You might have done better than you thought. Either way, you probably did better than someone else in that room. There were so many people in that room that looked upset afterwards. I’m sure you weren’t the only one who did bad.”  
Rin shrugged, not feeling much better. “Whatever. I’m gonna head home,” he said, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”  
….  
When Roy came home that evening, he could tell that Rin was upset, but why he didn’t know. He seemed tired and defeated. Was he sick? Had something bad happened? Maybe this had to do with him not getting enough sleep. Roy carefully observed him as he lounged about that day. Roy originally hadn’t said anything, but just started making dinner as Rin definitely wasn’t in any sort of mood to.   
Once dinner was on the table he finally spoke up. “So…” he said, “Are you going to tell what happened today or am I going to have to make you?”  
Rin froze in his picking at his food. If he had been eating he would have choked. Had he been caught? Had Roy figured him out. “What do you mean?” he asked.  
“Don’t try to lie to me,” Roy said, “You’re clearly upset about something, now what is it?”  
Rin relaxed a little as he realized he hadn't been found out yet but that hadn’t lasted long as he realized he’d have to explain himself. “I-it’s nothing,” he brushed off hoping to end the subject, “I don’t want to talk about it.”  
Roy raised an eyebrow at that as a warning went off in his head. “Rin,” he said carefully, “What did you do?”  
“Huh?” Rin’s voice cracked as he realized just how much of a hole he had dug himself in, “Nothing! I swear! I didn’t do anything wrong!”  
“Then what is it?” he said, a scrutinizing look on his face.  
“I…” he started, “I got turned down by a girl!”  
Roy blinked in surprise. He stared at Rin for a moment before snorting with a wry grin.   
“Is that it?” he said, “And here I thought you might be in trouble.”  
“more than you realize,” Rin thought. He fake pouted. “Hey! Don’t belittle me! Rejection hurts!” he snapped.  
Roy got up and patted him on the shoulder as he went to put his plate away. “Don’t worry,” he said, “You’ll figure out how to speak to women eventually. You’re barely a teenager. You’ll learn sooner or later.”  
Rin rolled his eyes. “Yeah right. This coming from the guy who has had girls falling all over him all his life,” he retorted.  
Roy shrugged. “If you want to blame anyone for that, blame my Aunt Chris,” he said, “Being raised by her was like being put through a perpetual charm school.” “Still you shouldn’t worry,” he said as he went to head upstairs, “You’re young. You still have all the time in the world to figure it out.”  
Rin smirked. “And you just admitted you’re old,” he pointed out.   
Roy gave him an irritated look before shaking his head. “Here I am trying to give you good advice and you’re poking fun at me,” he said with a sigh, “Well I guess worse could have come out of your rebellious phase.” He then turned to head upstairs to his study.  
Rin’s smile fell as his back was turned. “I’m more rebellious than you realize,” he thought to himself, “though depending on whether I did good enough to pass, you might not find out.”  
….  
“Are you kidding me?! Father still wants this kid in the State Alchemist program?!” Envy shrieked as he followed Wrath down the hall, “He did horrible on the test!” He extended his arms out into the air, gripping the test packet in one hand. “He was supposed to get a seventy percent or higher to pass and the kid barely gets half right!” he ranted, “Granted, it’s not the worst of these damn things I had to look at today by far...but still! Look at this shit! He just put down ‘C’ for the entire second half of the test!” The smaller homunculi tried to show the larger what he meant but Wrath just glared at him and knocked the packet out of his hands.  
“It doesn’t matter what he got on the test, Father needs him on a close leash to monitor him!” the fuhrer stated, “If he remains a civilian, then we have next to no control over him! We already lost almost all influence on his brother when he went off to Xing. We can’t afford both of them to end up off the radar.”  
Envy huffed and glared at him. “Are we even sure this kid is worth our time?” Envy said, “Cause to me, he just looks like some courageous idiot who happens to be surrounded by weird shit. His brother looks like he has more potential than he does, even with that strange blue fire thing.” “Or better yet, maybe we should be focusing more of our energy on the white coat bastard that brought them here in the first place!” he continued, “Please tell me I’m not the only one who remembers that we still have no idea what the hell he is!”  
“Shut it, Envy!” Pride hissed from the shadows, startling him, “It is not our place to question Father’s will! Though I agree the boy is an idiot, I can still sense a great potential inside him.” “It’s happened on several occasions,” Pride explained, “one moment everything is as it should be and then his emotions become unstable and I feel a power rise from him. We’ve all seen it from what happened to Gluttony. The child burned him without alchemy. We cannot brush this aside! Imagine what this could mean for us! A way to manipulate the universe without alchemy.”  
“Father doesn't need equivalent exchange. He can practically do that already,” Envy retorted.  
“But Father has the power of thousands of souls and an eternal body,” Pride argued, “that boy has but one weak, human soul trapped in a weaker carcass. We are dealing with an impossibility.”  
There was a pause as Envy processed this. “Fine…” he said picking up the papers, “I’ll put down a seventy one for him or something. But if this kid ends up being a waste of time, I get to kill him.”   
….  
Rin sat outside Mustang’s office, waiting to hear how Ed and Al had done. They would be debriefed on it today. He didn’t bother heading to General Raven to pick up his grade. He already knew he had failed. He had made peace with that thought last night. Instead of wasting his time hoping on something that was never going to happen, he was going to be there for Ed and Al.  
It had been a good fifteen minutes before they stepped out of the room. Their faces were hard and blank(well, with Al that was a given, but still...). They stood there for a few moments before Rin broke the silence. “So how did it go?” he asked, “Did you pass?”  
The two shared a serious glance before Ed spoke up. “We passed,” Ed said.  
“But I still can’t become a state alchemist,” Alphonse explained solemnly.  
Rin stood there, looking at them in confusion. “Why the hell not?” he demanded, “You worked so hard for it! Shouldn’t you be able to-”  
Ed put a finger to his lip and glared at him before he jerked his head to the left. Rin looked around and realized the office was full of people. He then gave Rin a “follow me” gesture and headed for the door. Rin nodded and headed after the two boys.  
…  
“You’re serious?” Rin said, “There’s a physical exam?” The three were sitting in an empty hall on the third floor of the building.   
“Yup,” Ed said crossing his arms and scowling, “Even after you pass, since you’re joining the military, they need to have your complete and up-to-date health history for safety reasons. This is the reason why they have a physical exam afterwards.”  
“Damn it…” Rin said looking down, “And you guys worked so hard…”  
“Yeah…” Al muttered.  
There was a silence between them. Then Rin’s eyes lit up. “Hey, at least you didn't fail,” he offered, “You proved you were smart enough to pass. Most people can’t do that! That’s something right?”  
Alphonse turned to him. Rin could see the smile in his soul fire eyes. “Yeah...I guess you’re right!” he said. There was another silence before Al spoke again. “So how did you do, Rin?” he asked.  
Rin lowered his head and frowned. “I...probably didn’t pass,” he said.  
“Oh...I’m sorry,” Al said.  
Ed crooked an eyebrow. “Wait...probably? What do you mean probably?” he asked, “didn’t you go to check your test score?”  
“Nah…” Rin said giving a dry laugh, “I didn’t bother. With how hard it was for the two of you and all the adults in the room, I kinda figured it’d be pointless in the end. Besides, I’d like to imagine I at least got close to seventy percent. I don’t need to go down to General Raven’s office and find out I got a thirty instead.”  
Ed frowned. That wasn’t the Rin he knew! He wouldn’t just give up like that! He shouldn't. Ed opened his mouth to tell him off, when someone came running down the hall.  
“Excuse me? Are you Mr. Mustang?” a voice called. They turned to see a short brunnette girl running towards them.   
“Uh...yeah? Why?” he asked.   
She held out a document file for him. “General Raven asked me to get this to you,” she said, “He had hoped you’d come by this morning to pick it up, but you didn’t show up. He had a meeting so he asked me to get this to you.” She handed it to him.  
“Uhhh….Thanks…” he said, taking it. The woman bowed and headed off. Rin stared at it for a moment before opening the file. His eyes widened slightly. Inside was his test packet.  
There was a pregnant pause as he could feel the stares of the elric brother’s boring in on him. “Well?” Ed said.  
“Aren’t you going to open it?” Al asked.  
Rin shrunk under their gaze, “W-well I already know what it’s going to say so…” he started.  
“Don’t be such a baby!” Ed jabbed at him.  
“Come on,” Al said, “We’ll be right here for you.”  
Rin glanced at them both before nodding, filling with determination. “Ok then…” He steeled himself before shutting his eyes tight, “HERE GOES!” He flipped the packet open and slowly opened his eyes, expecting the worst. His eyes became the size of saucers at what he saw. In bold black ink, the words read “71.5%”.  
Rin was dumbstruck as he stared down at the page, mouth agape. “I did it…” he breathed.  
“Rin…” Al said, voice filled with joy for his friend.   
“I really did it!” Rin cried, eyes shining. He then hopped up and began jumping around with delight. “WOOOHOOO!” he shouted, “This is amazing! I’m going to be a state alchemist!”  
Ed smiled at him. “Well done, Rin,” he said, getting up, “You’re half way out of the woods.”  
Rin turned to him, beaming. He then suddenly pulled them both into a bone crushing hug, “COME HERE!” he cried, “ThankyouthankyouTHANKYOU!” “If it wasn’t for you two, I would never have passed!” he continued, hugging them tighter.  
While they were happy about his gratitude, they weren’t so much about his expression of such gratitude, “That’s enough!” Ed gagged, already blue in the face, “You’re crushing my lungs and my automail!”   
“I think you’re denting my armor!” Al whined.  
“Sorry…” Rin said, backing off, “I guess...I’m just happy I got this far!”  
“It’s ok,” Al said, picking up the file that spilled onto the floor. “Hey, it looks like you’re demonstration time is tomorrow, right after brother’s!” he said.  
“Sweet! Guess we’ll get to watch eachother then!” Rin said, “And I’ll have an excuse to be there for Dad! Sweet!”  
Ed frowned. “That reminds me,” he said, “How do you plan on telling the Colonel?”  
Rin faltered. “...To be honest,..I hadn’t really thought that far…” he admitted. Ed and Al practically fell over from shock. “But I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it,” Rin continued, unperturbed by their reaction, “I think I’ll just have to wait for the right momment. Hopefully it will come on its own.”  
….  
Roy relaxed as he found a space to watch the demonstrations in the hall. He sighed as he leaned against a post. It had been a long morning. No, it had been a long week! For some reason, he had been more swamped than usual with paperwork, giving him next to no time for breaks, particularly under the hawks watchful eye. In short, it had been hell. He never wanted to see another notice to sign for the next six months, He just managed to squeeze on in now to watch Ed’s demonstration because he forced himself to come in early and get at least twenty minutes of extra work done, plus a forty minute nap at his desk because Riza had yet to come in. He hoped Rin didn’t mind him being there in the morning. He seemed pretty jumpy the night before….  
Edward’s demonstration promised to be quite a spectacle. Everyone was buzzing with excitement as the youngest child to pass the State Alchemy Exam stood ready to present. Even the fuhrer showed up! Roy watched in awe as Edward clapped his hands and summoned a spear from the ground without a transmutation circle. It was quite a sight to behold! And the way he demonstrated his fighting abilities by facing off against the fuhrer after that certainly caused a few gasps from the audience and Roy to almost facepalm. He shook his head. Ed was lucky he wasn’t taken as a threat by the man. ZThat boy was going to be a handful…  
Once Ed’s demonstration was over, he was about to leave when he noticed something...no one else was. Everyone who had turned out for Ed’s performance had stayed, even the fuhrer! Roy furrowed his eyebrows. What were they doing? Surely they knew nothing could top what they had just seen. It’s not like there was another child prodigy that applied….or so he thought.  
“Next up, Rin Mustang!” Basque Grand called.  
Roy froze and his blood ran cold...What?! He shook his head, surely this was a mistake. It had to be! He just heard the brigadier general wrong, right?...Wrong. Roy could feel his stomach sinking as he saw a young man walk through the door. His heart stopped as he could no longer deny who it was as his fears came to life.  
“RIN?!”


	22. Show his eyes, grieve his heart

Rin felt his heart beating a mile a minute as Edward finished up his demonstration. He had done spectacularly. There was no doubt the blonde would be a state alchemist. The fuhrer smiled and dismissed Edward. Rin shuddered slightly. He didn’t know why, but there was something unsettling about that smile.  
Rin shook his head to rid himself of the uneasiness. The last thing he needed right now was some irrational nerves. Ed walked back down the hall and out the door to stand next to him for a second. Rin held up his hand in a high five. “Awesome job!” he said, “I think you really wowed them!”  
Ed smiled and accepted the gesture. “Thanks!” he said.  
“Next up, Rin Mustang!” Basque Grand called.  
“You’re up!” Ed said, “Good luck.”  
Rin nodded and gave him a thumbs up before heading down the hall. He steeled himself as he walked down the center of the room. He smiled to himself and took a deep breath. He was going to amaze them, he just knew it. Nothing could stop him now.  
“RIN?!”  
The boy froze and looked up to the balcony where he saw his father standing byt the railing, gripping it tightly. Rin could feel his heart sink as he could see the mix of emotions of his father’s face: rage, betrayal, shock,...and strangely fear as well. Rin gulped. Why did he have to be here? Now?  
Roy was thinking something similar. How could Rin be doing this? It made no sense! There was no application file for him! His heart was pounding as so many thoughts swirled in his head. He had to get Rin out of here. He couldn’t allow him to take the test. He was about to demand that the boy leave when suddenly, a voice spoke up.  
“Is there something wrong Colonel?” the calm voice of the fuhrer rang out.  
Roy paused as he realized where he was. All eyes were on him at his outburst. He couldn’t make a scene here, as much as he wanted to tell Rin off, there were too many people around that would shut him down if he tried to stop Rin now. They were on a tight schedule. They didn’t care what a colonel had to say, and they didn’t care about Rin. All they cared about was getting through all these people without issue. At best if he acted out now, he would be ignored. At worst, he would be escorted out and could be demoted.  
“No Sir,” he struggled to keep himself calm and collected while glaring down at Rin, “But I was not made aware that my son had applied to take the state alchemy exam. I even expressed my opposition towards it to him. Forgive me for this, sir, but I would appreciate it if you dismissed him.” Although he didn’t want to make a scene, that wasn’t going to stop him from at least trying to stop this.  
Rin’s eyes widened. Could he really do that? He looked to King Bradley in his throne. The fuhrer paused in thought before speaking. “While I understand your concerns, colonel, I cannot simply dismiss him,” he explained, “I may be the ruler of this land, but even I have to follow the rules. He has not given us any reason to dismiss him. He does not require parental consent to take the exam and I cannot send him away for reasons of his age as Edward Elric was allowed to and he is the same age as him.”  
Roy’s fists clenched even tighter but bit his tongue and nodded curtly. He glared down at Rin. Though angry he may be, his eyes were more pleading than anything. Begging for him to not go through with it.  
Rin ignored him. He took a deep breath and began his routine. He slowly lifted his gloved hand into the air…  
Snap!  
Blue flames burst forth into the air, exploding in mid air. There were a few gasps as a few of the military personnel were taken aback by the color. Rin smirks.  
Snap!  
Blue flames dance through the air as he brings out his second hand.  
Snap! Snap!  
Two lines of fire whizz across the ground to form a circle around him.  
Snap!  
Rin leapt into the air for a moment as fire crosses the ground in the circle where he stood.  
Snap! Snap!  
More flames blaze across the floor, burning into the ground. Many are confused at first by what was going on. Why was he lighting the floor on fire? Even Roy was slightly confused...that is until the flames were extinguished to reveal a large transmutation circle burned into the ground.  
Roy’s eyes widened at this as he subconsciously leaned in with interest. Many of the other men did the same. Rin squatted down and placed a hand on the floor. The circle lit up and the boy was being lofted into the air by a pillar extending from the ground. It extended until he was eye level with Roy and he looked over to his audience on the balcony and smiled as he snapped his fingers one more time, creating three medium sized explosions of fire behind him.  
To be completely honest, deep down Roy was very proud. All that work, all that effort Rin had put forth throughout the years and here it was on display. It was incredible. His heart would be swelling with pride right now if it weren’t already filled with anger and grief, because he knew that Run had impressed everyone.  
“Your boy is amazing!” one of the men next to him said as Rin cleared the mess he made and shook General Raven’s hand, “I don’t know why you didn’t want him taking the exam. He’s going to be great!”  
“I know…” Roy muttered, trying to keep his emotions under control, “I can already see the headlines…”  
After Rin left the room, Roy headed downstairs to chase him down.  
….  
Roy stormed through the halls, practically boiling with rage. Everyone steered clear of him, afraid that if they even looked at the flame alchemist he would burn them alive from sheer rage. That boy was dead for this. How could he just disobey him like this?! This wasn’t some game! He could be sent off to war and die or worse! Why, why, why could he not just listen to him for once?!  
He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hadn’t noticed when he slammed right into someone.  
He fell to the floor and looked up to glare at the person, only to realize it was Riza. While to anyone else, she appeared to be indifferent as she looked down at him, but to him he could see the sympathy and understanding in her eyes. “He’s this way, Colonel,” she said helping him up and leading him down a hallway.  
Rin was sitting inside an unused office, but but not by choice. He had attempted to avoid his father at first, knowing how angry he would be. However, Lieutenant Hawkeye had different plans. She had apparently heard about him taking the exam through some conversation she had overheard from some generals. She had tracked him down almost immediately after he had gotten his watch. She hadn’t said anything, but dragged him down a half and sat him down in a vacant office, telling him to wait. She didn’t even have to lock the door. The tone in her voice was enough to make him obey.  
Rin felt like a child again, waiting to be punished. However, he knew this had been coming from the beginning and he wasn’t the least bit scared or sorry.  
He heard someone marching down the hall and looked up to see Roy, absolutely livid with Hawkeye behind him. Rin looked away as stepped into the room.  
“Thank you, lieutenant,” Roy said, voice low as he glared at Rin, “Now I would appreciate if you’d leave us alone. I would like to have a private conversation with my son.”  
She nodded. “I’ll make sure Edward is made aware of the outcome of his examination,” she said before heading back to the office.  
As she walked away Roy turned to Rin again, glowering. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” Roy demanded, “Did you really think you could get away with this? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?!”  
“No,” Rin said, slumping in his chair.  
“So what, were you trying to make me angry?! Was this some sort of petty statement you were trying to make?” Roy yelled, “Because spite is a pretty pathetic reason to join the army!”  
“It wasn’t just that….” Rin muttered.  
Roy scoffed. “Well I’m glad your damn hormones weren’t the only reason why you decided to make the shittiest decision of you life!” he spat.  
Rin stood up at that. “They weren’t hormones, you asshole! My emotions are real!” He shouted, “And it’s not shitty! This is the best thing I have ever done and you should be proud of my accomplishment!”  
“Accomplishment? Since when is throwing your life away an accomplishment?!” Roy snapped,“I don’t know what was going through your head when you thought this was a good idea, but whatever it was, wasn’t a good enough! I want you to march back into General Raven’s office and turn in that watch!”  
“Are you insane?!” Rin shouted, clutching his newly acquired silver pocket watch in his pants pocket, “I worked to damn hard to get this! I’m not going to let you take it away from me!”  
“Worked hard on what? Lying to me all year long? I trusted you Rin! I felt bad for doubting you, but now I see I was right all along!” Roy responded, “I don’t even know if half the conversations we had were all just lies and excuses or not, now!”  
“NO! I WORKED HARD STUDYING MY ASS OFF!” The teen roared, “Do you even realise how much effort I put into that damn test? I pushed myself to my limits! I studied harder than I ever have before and I did something that few other people could, and I did it without your help!”  
Roy felt a twist of pity in his heart for the boy, but his anger and pride overshadowed it.“You sentenced yourself to death, is what you did!” Roy snapped, “How long until you get sent off to battle, huh? Or get sent on some dangerous mission and get captured?! You’re a goddamn kid Rin!”  
“Oh, and Ed and Al aren’t?!” Rin cried, “Where’s your worry for them? Huh? Do their lives not matter as much to you or do you just not think I’m as competent as them? I bet that’s it, isn’t it! You’re so damn scared that I’ll screw up everything and get myself killed on the first day because I’m just such a dumbass to you! ”  
Roy felt genuinely hurt by that statement. Did he really think that? “That’s not it, Rin!” Roy shouted, “I don’t think you’re-”  
“Don’t patronize me!” he cut him off, “I know what you think of me! I know what everyone thinks of me! I’m just the dumb, temperamental older brother who can’t do anything right! Well screw that! This is my way of showing the world I’m not just an idiot. This is my way of making my mark! Yukio’s going to study alkahestry while I’m becoming a state alchemist! Doesn’t that seem fair?”  
“Rin, you can make your mark on the world, but just not like this!” Roy tried to reason, “You have options! You’re not even of college age yet! If you stay a state alchemist, you’ll ruin whatever chance you have of living a normal life. Being a state alchemist will take away what childhood you have left! While on the job, I have seen terrible things Rin…”  
“Like what?!” He snapped.  
Roy paused. For a moment memories from Ishval came coming back. Terror, screaming, pleading. He shook his head. “Things I don’t want you to see,” he said. Rin scoffed and rolled his eyes at him, causing Roy to growl. “The only reason I let Edward and Alphonse try is because they already had their childoods taken from them!” he shouted, “They don’t have options! You do. I’m begging you Rin, turn in your state alchemist licences. You can’t even begin to understand what you’re getting into! You’ve already proven yourself, but this isn’t some game! It’s-”  
“You think I don’t know that?!” Rin roared, “And stop treating me like a child! I’m not a child! You think I’m really so stupid as to think this is all fun and games? That I’m doing this for kicks or just because I can? I want to really help people! I want to protect people! I want to help Al and Ed get their bodies back! I’m not a two year old trying to play dress up. And my brain isn’t constantly clouded with hormones like you think! I can make my own decisions and I don’t need you hovering over me all the time waiting for me to slip up, so FUCK OFF!” Rin panted for a moment.  
Roy stared at him, hard. His fists were shaking and he gritted his teeth. “Fine then!” he growled, “If you’re so sure you want to be a state alchemist, then go clean out your room and move it to your dorm assignment! If you’re adult enough to make decisions like this, then you’re adult enough to not be relying on me anymore! From now on you can buy your own food, pay for your own heating and air, and wash you own clothes!”  
Rin paused for a second. His eyes widened with a surprised and pained look. He then started growling at Roy. “FINE BY ME!” Rin shouted back, “I couldn’t stand living with someone so arrogant anyways!” He then stormed out of the room. Roy glared at his retreating form. He then headed back to his office, ignoring anyone else for the rest of the day. He was too angry to talk to anyone. A few hours later, he felt guilty about what he said.  
…  
Rin sat outside in the courtyard, glaring at the ground. He didn’t feel like doing much right now. He just felt so hurt and angry. He couldn’t believe his dad was going to kick him out. He expected him not to listen, but to just kick him to the curb out as well? So much for him caring about him…  
Well, screw him! If he wanted him out then fine! He had to stand by his words anyways. He could take care of himself and he would prove it.  
“Rin!” a voiced called. Rin looked up to see Al running over to him. “We’ve been looking for you everywhere! Are you alright?”  
Rin forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, “Actually, I was wondering if you could help me with something.”  
….  
Roy trudged home that afternoon. He didn’t know how long it had been since he was last so exhausted. He still had to work this out with Rin. He had to find some way to convince him why this was wrong. He didn’t want to tell him about Ishval. He hoped in vain that he would never have to explain it, but it looked like it would be his only option. He had to make the boy understand why he shouldn’t be a state alchemist. He knew Rin, better than he thought he knew him anyways, and if Rin really knew what a state alchemist did, he would quit immediately  
But at the same time, would the boy ever be able to forgive him if he found out what happened in ishval? He knew it was selfish, but Rin was already angry. He didn’t want the kid to hate him anymore. Roy shook his head. Maybe not tonight. Tonight he just needed to figure out how to work things out with him.  
He walked through the door to find the house dark. Roy blinked in confusion before turning on the lights. The house was completely silent. Roy’s blood ran cold as he realise what had happened. He ran upstairs, just to be sure.  
He burst through the door to Rin and Yukio’s room only to find it empty. The closet door was open and a majority of the clothing was missing. A few books and keepsakes were gone too. He found a note on Rin’s bed. Guilt flooded through him as he read it.  
At the dorms. Will pick up the rest tomorrow.  
\--Rin  
Roy felt sick as he slumped onto the bed. This was all his fault. He honestly felt like crying. Rin was gone. He had no way to protect him anymore. He wasn’t even assigned to Roy’s division, he’d be working under General Raven! He didn’t even have the ability to check in with how he’s doing at the end of each day anymore and it was all his fault! Roy slammed his fist against the wall. Why, why did he have to say that?! Rin wasn’t going to talk to him for some time and he wouldn’t have the time during work to seek him out. At best, he might catch him at the cafeteria, and that wasn’t even considering whether the general decides to transfer him somewhere. Roy’s shoulders shook. They were gone. They were both gone now, and there was nothing he could do about it. It had been a long time since he felt so alone.  
“Mrow?”  
Roy looked up to see Kuro enter the room. There was a sympathetic look in demon’s eyes. Usually, he and the cat sidhe didn’t get along, but now he was glad he was there. Kuro hopped up on the bed and layed down over his right leg. Roy smiled and stroked him. “Thanks,” he said. He sat there for a while before getting up. He poured kuro a bowl of catnip wine before heading out the door. He couldn’t stand being in the house right now. It was too quiet. It was too early to go to bed too (not that he would be able to) so he decided to go out on the town to get his mind off of this the best he could.  
….  
Rin hated the smell of the musty dorm. Absolutely loathed it. It smelled like mold. It was too cold too. There was no heating or cooling unit in his temporary dorm. But what he hated the most about it was how quiet it was. There was no sound of Kuro running around the basement, no sound of the furnace he broke struggling to work properly, no sound of the radio he had accidentally left on downstairs, and no sound of his father snoring down the hall.  
Rin turned over in his bed and pulled the blanket over him before scrunching his nose in disgust. Not even that smelled right! Rin sighed and gave up on trying to get to bed early and pulled out one of his books to get his mind off the day’s events instead. The smell of dust and smoke filled the air as he cracked the Heissgart James book open and started rereading it. He took a deep breath in. He never realised he’d miss the smell of smoke so much. It was almost as bad as when he was a kid and missed the smell of incense. Roy never was able to find the right kind to smell like home, but he hadn’t cared. After a while he just got used to smoke.  
Rin frowned. He guessed he’d just have to get used to the smell of mold too. After all, Roy had made it clear he didn’t want him around anymore. “Sorry Yukio,” he thought, “I guess I really am the screw up of the family, seeing as I managed to screw this one up so badly.” Rin eventually closed the book and lied down on his bed. He wondered if Heissgart James ever screwed up this badly with his family.  
….  
Roy stared at the amber liquid in the glass. He swirled it around a little, deciding if he wanted to take another swig or not. He decided against it and set it down, sighing. He really let Shiro down. Rin wasn’t even sixteen and he had already joined the military, and now that he thought about it, he probably shouldn’t have let Yukio go off to some strange country at his age either. What if he gets mugged or kidnapped? Roy groaned and set his head on the bar. He felt like the worst father in existence.  
“My, my plastered already?” a familiar voice said, “Funny, I thought the flame alchemist would be better at holding his liquor.”  
Roy shot up and looked to his left where he saw mephisto sitting next him, drinking a rather colorful looking beverage. He nearly fell out of his seat in surprise. “What the-” he started, regaining his balance, “What the hell are you doing here?!”  
“Isn’t it obvious?” the demon king said, “I’m celebrating!”  
“Celebrating what?” Roy asked in confusion.  
“Why Rin becoming a state alchemist, of course,” he responded, “Congratulations by the way. You must be so proud.”  
Roy growled at him. “Go to hell!” he snapped.  
“Maybe later. I’ve been meaning to visit my brothers anyways,” Mephisto said with a shrug, “but I don’t get why you’re so upset. I mean, this is what you wanted, right? You taught them alchemy, probably gloated about all the wonderful things you’ve done, and did a pretty good job of establishing yourself as their role model.”  
Roy glared at his drink as he felt guilt seep through him. He was right. Rin had looked up to him. They both did. He had built himself up before the boys with all his stories and never once tried to show them that he wasn’t some perfect role model. Well, they knew he wasn’t perfect. They’d seen his klutzy side, his stubbornness, his stupid mistakes...but they had no idea about the skeletons he kept in his closet. And maybe if they did, Rin wouldn’t have been so eager to follow in his footsteps… “Just shut up!” he shouted at the demon, practically seething.  
Mephisto frowned at him. “I don’t take orders from humans,” he stated, “I only make deals with them, and since you have nothing to offer, I’ll speak my mind.”  
“Whatever…” he growled.  
“So Rin is in the military, but where is Yukio?” he asked, “He wasn’t at the house after all.”  
Roy cursed. “He’s….in Xing…” he admitted.  
Mephisto blinked at him. “Wow, both of them out of the house already?” he said, “My, you work quickly. That boy must have really been getting on your nerves if you shipped him off to another country.”  
Roy turned on him with a death glare before grabbing him by the coat. “Say that again and I burn your tongue out!” he roared.  
Mephisto was unfazed and simply tapped roy’s hand causing it to go limp so he could brush it off. “You know it's strange hearing a threat like that come from someone other than my brother Iblis,” he said.  
“What did you do to my hand?!” Ro demanded, holding his numb hand.  
Mephisto rolled his eyes and waved him off. “Oh don’t worry. It’ll be back to normal in about ten to twenty minutes. I told you not to touch my coat,” he said, taking another swig, “Anyways, its actually a good thing that Yukio isn‘t here at the moment. I’ve been noticing some strange powers around Central that the pair may have attracted the attention of.”  
Roy looked up at him. “Demons?” he questioned.  
“Not quite,” he said, “They aren’t native to Gehenna anyways. These things are different. Though whether they are entirely native to this universe, I’m not so sure …” Roy leaned in, expecting to be told more. “But!” Mephisto chirped, “I’m sure they’re nothing you need to concern yourself with at the moment!” Roy nearly fell out of his chair. “Good bye Mustang,” he said getting up, “It was a pleasure speaking with you.”  
“Hey!” he shouted, “Get back here! You owe me an explanation!”  
“Oh, I owe you nothing, Mr. Mustang,” he said, “But I will drop off more holy water for you. Also...I recommend sticking around for a little while longer. Get yourself another drink. It might be worth it.” With that he headed out the door.  
Roy scowled at his retreating figure but did as he said. He ordered another drink and sipped it slowly. A few minutes later, a familiar voice rung in his ear. “Roy! Oh man, am I lucky to see you!” it said.  
He looked up to see Maes beaming down at him. “Hughes?” he said, “What are you doing here?”  
“Well, I was picking up a bottle of something nice for Gracia, since I had to stay late. Some guy in a suit and top hat had suggested I stop here for a drink they sell here in bottles called ‘mouse’s blush’ he thought was pretty good. He looked like the kind of guy who knew his stuff, so I decided to take a chance,” he explained, “But originally, I had been out looking for you. I stopped by your house but you weren’t there.”  
Roy frowned. “Why were you looking for me?” he asked.  
Hughes scratched the back of his head nervously. “Well…” he said, “I heard about what happened today...with Rin. Which I honestly had no idea about before, by the way. I just found out this afternoon-”  
“Get to the point Hughes,” he said.  
“Well...I figured if the kid is gonna be in the military, you’d probably prefer him in your division,” he explained, “so I figured out a way to get him transferred over to you.”  
“How?” he said, “Rin has already been assigned under General Raven.”  
“Temporarily,” Hughes pointed out, “General Raven gave his recommendation, but he never asked for Rin to be assigned to work under him like you did with Ed and Al. Currently the kid is in a limbo. No one has made a request to take him into their division, and nothing can be officialized until his state title comes out next week.”  
Roy’s eyes widened. “So I can make sure he ends up working under me,” he breathed, “I can still monitor how he’s doing and what he’s assigned to…I can make sure he doesn’t get sent on too many dangerous missions!”  
Maes shrugged his shoulders. “There are no guarantees, but yes,” he said.  
Roy began chuckling as he felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders. He felt like crying for joy. “You ok?” his friend asked.  
“Ok? I’m better than ok!” he continued laughing, “Oh, Hughes I don’t know if it’s the drink talking or what, but I could kiss you right now!” He slung his arm around his friend’s shoulder.  
Maes chuckled. “Sorry, Roy,” he joked, “But you know I’m already taken!”  
Roy laughed again and Hughes laughed with him. Things were going to be ok. He could fix things. A little anyways.  
“Uh Roy?” Hughes said, “Is there something wrong with your hand?”  
“Uhh...it fell asleep…”


	23. Wool of bat and tongue of dog

Fuhrer Bradley stared at the Colonel. “You came into my office to ask for a transfer?”  
he questioned.  
Roy could feel the slight tension in the air. “Yes, for my son, Rin,” he stated, “I understand this is an unusual request to make of you, my Fuhrer. I was told to take this matter up with your secretary, but it appears she is on leave for the next four days. This matter was too important to me to leave it until then, so I was hoping I could make my request and reasoning known to you personally at a time of your convenience, seeing as it would be passed onto you eventually for approval.”  
“I see…” the Fuhrer responded. Wrath inwardly growled in annoyance. He had given the woman leave in hopes of deterring any requests like this. They knew Mustang was stubborn, but he didn’t realize he’d be so bold as to attempt to speak to him personally. “I must say Colonel Mustang, this is a very unprecedented request,” he responded, “We do not usually allow family members to work in the same division.”  
“I understand this, but I also understand it is not unheard of,” Roy said, “You had originally approved my request to have both the Elric brothers working under me. Had Alphonse not dropped out, that would be the case. Also, my First Lieutenant and Myself had both served under her grandfather for a time during the Ishvalan war.”  
Wrath wanted to strangle the man before him, but kept his calm demeanor. Roy was smart. Too smart for his own good. Brushing him off was not going to be easy. “Very well, I will put this into consideration,” he said, “but I must warn you, there are others interested in his talents. A few requests have already been made, including by Lieutenant Colonel Archer.”  
Wrath had hoped he would have left him alone after that lie, but that was not the case. Roy froze for a moment. Archer?! That snake wanted Rin?! He clenched his fists. That man only cared for himself, and would sooner send the boy to his death to save his own hide. He couldn’t let that happen!  
“Sir, I appologize, but I am begging you to not let that happen,” Roy said, “I do not believe Archer has a good enough understanding of Rin’s vices and capabilities to be be the best commanding officer for him.”  
The Fuhrer frowned at him. “You know that rarely do many superior officers know their men very well when they are first assigned, Colonel,” he argued.  
“I know, Sir, but please, I ask that you at least listen to what I have to say,” Roy continued, “As a father I just want to see my son safe. I understand his position comes with some unavoidable risks, but you already know my stance on him joining. I know that I cannot convince him to leave the military of his own accord through my words, so all I wish now is to simply be able to monitor his progress and be able to look after him. As a fellow parent, I believe you can understand my concern, correct?”  
Wrath wanted to curse and swear. Damn it. This man wasn’t going to give up unless he was either appeased or silenced, and the latter was not an option. And if so, then they would have serious problems to worry about. Finally he took a deep breath and smiled. “Very well,” he said, “While there is still no guarantee where your boy will be assigned, I can assure you that he will not have a place at Lieutenant Colonel Archer’s side.”  
Roy sighed in relief. “Thank you, Sir,” he breathed, saluting him, “I apologize for any inconvenience I many have given you.”  
The Fuhrer smiled his fake smile. “At ease Colonel,” he said, “Now I believe you should be returning to your work, as should I.” Roy nodded and smiled before leaving. The homunculi glared at him as he walked away.  
….  
Rin finished attaching the belt of his waist cape and looked himself over in his mirror. The uniform was a little baggy, as they didn’t have anything in his size, but it still fit. Maybe he could get Aunt Gracia to hem it for him. It was funny, really. He imagined himself wearing this uniform a lot as a kid, but now it seemed weird. It was itchy and new and smelled like the plastic it had come in. Not to mention it would have been pretty stiff if it hadn’t been slightly too big for him. His dad’s uniforms were so different. They were soft and smelled like laundry soap and ash. They weren’t so glaringly bright either. Now that he thought about it, that was probably due to the fact that they were old and well worn. He shrugged, bending the uncomfortably new shoulder pads. He supposed he’d just have to get used to it, just like everything else.  
Rin sighed and stepped out the door, ready for lunch. He was about to turn the corner to head down the hall when all of a sudden, he bumped into someone.  
He rubbed his shoulder as he stumbled and frowned as he turned to see who it was. His eyes then widened as he recognized him.  
“Ed?” he asked, “What are you doing here?”  
He blinked for a moment. “Oh, just coming to see you,” he said, “I was heading to the library and I thought I’d stop by.”  
“Oh cool,” he said, “Maybe we can have lunch together before you head out.”  
Ed shrugged. “Sorry. Already ate,” he said.  
“That’s fine,” Rin said, “Anyways, what do you think of my uniform! Just got it this morning. I look like a real state alchemist, don’t I?”  
“You look like a dork!” Ed said with a wry smile, “Why are you even so excited about that thing anyways? I always thought it was such a stupid looking design with the butt cape and everything.”  
Rin frowned. “I think it looks kinda cool. Granted, I kinda grew up with it…,” he said, “And it's still more comfortable than a tuxedo….though I wish it weren’t so itchy.” “Wait, I know you don’t like it, but why aren’t you wearing one?” Rin said furrowing his brow, “I thought these things were mandatory!” Rin felt a little peeved. Was someone trying to pull one over on him?  
Ed looked down in embarrassment. “They are…” he muttered, “But I just don’t want to! Ok?!”  
“.....Ohhhh,” Rin said in realization, “They don’t have one small enough to fit you!”  
“Grrrrr…” Ed snapped, about to lunge for Rin “WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE’D SUFFOCATE UNDERNEATH THE FABRIC OF THE WORLD’S SMALLEST UNIFORM!”  
“Hey!” Rin said, dodging him, “Take a damn chill pill! I was just stating a fact! They have like, six sizes for these things for both men and women and pretty much all of the guys’s run large. Look, mine doesn’t even fit!” He pointed to how he had to roll up the cuffs. Ed glared at the ground but nodded. They were both silent for a moment. “Soo…” Rin said, “Why are you heading to the library?”  
“I want to find out about Tucker’s talking chimera,” Ed explained, face getting serious.  
“Oh yeah, you’re still living with that guy,” Rin noted, “Isn’t his reassessment coming up? I know a lot of alchemists have it in the spring.”  
Ed nodded gravely. “Yeah, and he’s been acting really weird,” he explained, “He’s been brooding a lot and keeping to himself about it. Sometimes I’ve even heard him talking to himself. When he stops he looks really dazed.” “But that’s not the strangest thing he’s done,” Ed said, “Nina wrote a letter to her mother last night. This morning I found it in the garbage, burned to a crisp.”  
“Wait, to her mother?” Rin repeated, “I thought her mother was dead.”  
Ed’s eyes widened. “Wait what?” he asked.  
“Well that was the rumor two years ago when he had shown up out of the blue,” Rin said, “I don’t know for sure, but that was what my dad told me he heard about her.”  
Edward frowned. “Thanks for telling me this,” he said, before turning to go.  
“Ed? Where are you going?” Rin asked.  
“I’ve got some research to do,” he called, “You go enjoy your lunch.”  
….  
A few days later, Nina opened the door to see Rin standing there. “Hey there, squirt!” he said, ruffling her hair, “How are you doing?”  
“Win!” she cried, hugging him, “I’m so happy to see you!” She looked up at him, “Aw you here to pway?”  
“Maybe later,” he said, “I’d like to see Edward first, ok?” He was checking up on his friend after he fainted at the scene of a crime. He had followed Hughes to the investigation site of another victim of a cereal killer called “the Chopper.” Apparently the sight of the victim had been too much for him. Nina had lead him to the boy’s room, where he was now awake.  
“Hey, are you doing ok?” he said, “I heard you fell face first into the concrete. I was worried you might have given yourself brain damage.”  
Ed rolled his eyes. “I didn’t hit the concrete,” he said, “And I’m fine, thanks.”  
“Are you sure?” Rin asked. “What happened back there, then?”  
“I...had a flashback,” he admitted, “The victim reminded me of the night me and Al….of what we created.”  
Rin nodded sadly. He didn’t push him any further. Not that he had time to, as a bald man with a large mustache barged into the house.  
“I don't know what Roy Mustang's been filling your head with, but the research of Shou Tucker falls under the jurisdiction of me, Basque Grand!” he announced, once he had gathered the boys in the living room, “The Sewing-Life Alchemist is one of my top priorities, and I know you've been snooping around. I can no longer permit you two to take shelter at his estate.”  
“That’s not fair!” Rin shouted, “They don’t have anywhere else to stay!”  
“It’s fine, Rin,” Ed sighed, clearly not fine with the situation, “We’ll just apply for a dorm room and rent a hotel room for the night.”  
Rin frowned but nodded. With that they complied with the general and began to pack their things.  
….  
“Where awe you going, big brothers?” Nina looked up at the boys sadly from the door, “Awe you coming back?”  
“Don't worry,” Al said, “we'll come play with you again real soon.”  
“Weawy?” she asked, hope flooding into her eyes.  
“Yeah!” Rin said, “Infact, maybe we can invite you over to the dorms sometime to hang out with us.”  
Nina gasped in delight. “Wike a sweep over?” she asked, “Can I come over tonight? I wanna have a sweep over wight now!”  
The boys chuckled and Rin patted her head. “Maybe once these two are settled,” he pointed his thumb back at Ed and Al.  
Nina pouted. “Ok…,” she sighed, “But you better pwomise!”  
“We promise,” Edward responded, “We’ll see you later, Nina!” The three boys waved as they walked away. Edward’s smile fell as they rounded the corner.  
“So…” Rin said. “You guys need help finding a hotel? Or if you want, you can crash at my dorm for the night. Just to warn you, there’s only one bed and no heater.”  
“We might take you up on that offer,” Ed said, “But I was wondering if you’d be willing to help us with something else, or at least cover for us if we need it.” Rin raised an eyebrow. “We need to break into Tucker’s tonight, “ he said, “I have to find out about that talking chimera. There’s something rotten going on here, and I want to get to the bottom of it, but that general keeps blocking me at every turn. First at the library with his restrictions on the files and now here. I know it’s a lot to ask of you but-”  
“Count me in,” Rin said, surprising them, “I’ve always hated that guy. He’s a cold hearted prick. If you want my help going around him, then I’m up for it.” Edward smiled and nodded.  
….  
Brigadier general Grand glared out the window at the retreating figures of the boys. He scowled. “Don't they just eat at you?” He growled I hear when that kid showed off his transmutation abilities without the use of a circle, the King actually opened up his mouth and complimented him. Now that upstart Mustang's getting points for discovering him, my points, Tucker. Hell, he’s even getting points for that temperamental brat of his he didn’t even want in the military in the first place just because he was his son!” He turned to Tucker. “That snot nose kid performs one measly fireworks show and people are raving about him! And yet here I am picking scraps with you. This is a mockery, Tucker!” he snapped.  
“I'm sorry if they caused trouble for you, sir,” the quiet man muttered.  
“I smoothed things over for you last year when you turned in a pile of trash and called it research,” he snarled, “Fail it again, and I'll get the heat for endorsing you.”  
Tucker frowned. “but general-” he started  
“What, Tucker?” he barked “Would you rather the alternative approach? You want to pass the title of Sewing-Life Alchemist to that boy, and go back to your old life? Drifting the streets of some backward town with ideas and an empty stomach? Your assessment's in two days. It's time to show or roll over.” With that, the general marched out of his home.  
Tucker sighed as he slipped into his darkened study. He sat down in his swivel chair in the dark, moldy smelling room. What was he going to do? He needed that research money. He had no other means of income. But he had no idea of how to make another talking chimera...or at least...he didn’t know where he could get the resources. He closed his eyes. He was out of ideas. He was doomed.  
Suddenly, the room felt a little colder. A little more lonely. His brow furrowed as what sounded like a fly buzzed in his ear. He didn’t bother swatting it away. What was the point. What was the point in anything.  
Then...suddenly it stopped. And he shot up in his seat in the foul smelling room. That was it. He knew what he had to do. He dare not speak it though. He questioned himself several times on the matter. This wasn’t the first time he had this thought, but it was the first time he didn’t dismiss it. Because for the first time, instead of asking “why?” he asked “why not?”  
“Oh Nina?” he called, “Could you come here and help daddy with something?”  
...  
The three snuck around the building to the front where the gate was. Ed pulled on it before he realized there was a lock on it. “Damn it!” he said, “And I have no idea what the mechanisms on the inside are made of!”  
“Here, let me!” Rin said, moving passed Ed. He pulled on his ignition glove and motioned for them to back away. He snapped his fingers and an explosion went off inside the lock, causing it to break.  
“Cool!” Al said, “Where did you learn to do that?”  
“Shiro kept some old Macgyver tapes in the house,” Rin said without thinking as he removed the remains of the lock, “I remember he did something similar with gunpowder and the butt of a gun.”  
Ed and Al looked confused. “Macgyver?” Al asked, “Who’s that?”  
“And what are tapes?” Ed asked.  
Rin froze, realizing his mistake. “Uhhhh….” he said, “Tapes! It’s just a term for...comic strips. Yeah. Macgyver was a character from a comic strip who could break out of any jail and fought off bad guys.”  
“Oh…,” Al said, “Sounds interesting.”  
Rin breathed a sigh of relief before the three snuck into the estate. Rin had never seen the basement of the house, and he hoped to never do so again. It reeked of mold and mildew and rot. Rin scrunched his nose up in disgust.  
“You ok?” Al asked.  
“Yeah,” he said ,”Just be glad you can’t smell.”  
“Why?” Ed asked. “It doesn’t smell that bad….I mean there’s a little bit of a moldy smell…”  
“A little bit?!” he snapped, “It reeks!” Both brothers shushed him. Rin grumbled and crossed his arms. Why couldn’t Ed smell it as much? If this was another weird demon thing he was acquiring, he was going to have a word with Mephisto about whatever freaky hell spawn puberty he was going through.  
They continued along, seeing all the chimeras Tucker had created. They hissed and spat at them, crying out in pain. Rin couldn’t help but feel bad for those things. Was this what all chimeras were like? Rin felt terrible. How could anyone put these creatures in such pain. Meanwhile Al was confused. Why were these creatures like this? Kuro never looked like he was in any kind of pain. Wasn’t Tucker supposed to be great at making chimeras? Why did these look so wrong? Then something caught his eye. Something small and black floated in the air.  
“Brother?” Al asked, “What is that?” Both Rin and Ed turned to see a koltar floating near Al. Rin’s eyes widened. Why were there demons around here?! He pulled on his glove a little tighter. He wished he had brought holy water. Good thing he always had Kuro’s summoning paper on him. Mephisto left instruction on how to make one with his instructions on how to care for the cat sidhe. Now he carried one on him wherever he went, just in case.  
Ed gave a confused look. “I have no idea...I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said reaching his hand out to it.  
“Don’t touch it!” Rin hissed. The two turned towards him, confused. Rin froze as he tried to think up some kind of excuse. “Uhhh….” he said, “It could be one of Tucker’s experiments! You have no idea what it’s a cross between. It could be part scorpion for all you know!” Ed immediately moved away from it.  
Then the koltar started moving away from them. It floated down the hall and into an open door they hadn’t noticed. The Elric brothers watched it curiously before following it. Rin did the same but slipped his other ignition glove on just in case. When they got closer to the room they heard Tucker’s voice.  
“Come in boys,” he beckoned. They looked to each other before stepping in the room. Rin nearly puked when he did. The smell of mold was overpowering and he almost felt dizzy. Ed also seemed to notice this a little as he scrunched up his nose like Rin had done before. The room was dank and dark, with only candles lighting it. Transmutation circles covered the walls. Tucker sat crouched in the corner in front of something. A few more koltars floated around him. He turned to smile at them, but it seemed less than kind to Rin. There was something off about him. Not nearly as bad as the fuhrer….but still off. But still, there were no real demonic threats in sight, so he relaxed.  
“Oh, and I see you’ve brought your little friend Rin with you. how nice. He can see it too if he likes,” he said, moving out of the way to show them what appeared to be a large white dog with long brown hair, “It's a perfect version. A chimera that knows the human tongue.” He then turned to it and smiled. “Listen, dear,” he said, “That's your friend Edward. Look.”  
The chimera slowly looked up at Ed. It looked more healthy than the others, but there was still something sad about it. “Edward,” it said in a deep, slow voice, “Friend?”  
Tucker smiled. “Yes, exactly!” he said, “That's very good.”  
“Ve-ry good,” it repeated.  
“Unbelievable,” Al said, “It really can talk!” Edwards fists clenched.  
Rin whistled. “Guess that is pretty impressive,” he said as the creature began padding over to him and Al, “Freaky, but impressive.” He didn’t notice as Edward’s face became more severe. “Hey there, little buddy,” he said, crouching down to it and scratch his ears, “Nice to meet you.”  
“M-meet you,” it repeated, “Nice to meet you t-too….”  
“I'll have no problem getting the funding now,” Tucker said, smiling away, “I can't believe I didn't see it. The other one was too old to adapt.”  
Edward didn’t move. His face was hidden behind his bangs. “Stop it!” Rin chuckled, as the chimera licked his hand.  
“Friend,” it simply said.  
“Awww, aren’t you a sweet thing!” Rin said, rubbing it’s side, “good little puppy…”  
Finally, Edward couldn’t take it anymore. “Stop it, Rin!” he snapped, causing the boy to pause, “Stop treating her like an animal!”  
Rin looked confused. “But...it is an animal…” he said, “That's what a chimera is, isn’t it?”  
“Not this one…” he hissed, “Isn’t she, Tucker?” He gave the man an accusatory look.  
Tucker frowned and lowered his gaze, hiding his eyes behind his glasses. “Damn prodigies,” he growled, “too perceptive for your own good.”  
Rin looked confused before looking looking down at the chimera before him. He stared into its painful gaze. There was something familiar about those eyes…  
“Friend…” It spoke again, “Brother friend. Big brother Rin.”  
Rins eyes widened and his mind went blank as realization hit him. No. No no no no. It couldn’t be. He had just seen her the other day. This had to be some twisted nightmare. “N-Nina?” he asked quietly.  
Al gasped and turned towards the chimera. “Nina?!” he cried before turning back to his brother, “Y-you mean…”  
“His daughter. And his dog,” Ed bit out, shaking with fury, “He transmuted them into that thing! First his wife two years ago and now Nina!” He looked up at Tucker with hatred. “An easy process when you use people, right?” He spat.  
“Why are you getting so upset, Edward?” Shou said as if nothing were wrong, “It's the nature of scientific progress. Animal testing, experimentation, trial and error, all advancements have a price.”  
Rin felt sick as he heard the man speak. How can he act so blameless? He wanted to say something but he was still in shock. All he could do was clutch Nina’s deformed body. Ed however, wasn’t. Ed snapped, “Shut up!” He cried, punching Shou on jaw and knocking him to the floor, “I'm not gonna let you rationalize this, you monster! That was your own family, damn it! You've been toying with people's lives!”  
“Toying with lives?” The older alchemist sneered, “What? Like your arm and leg there? Or your brother's body, or trying to bring your mother back? That's toying, isn't it? You don't really think you're any different from me, do you Ed?”  
“Stop it!” Rin snapped, standing up and walking towards him. Hot tears streamed down his face as he glowered at the man on the ground. His blood boiled to look at him. “You and Ed are nothing alike, you mad man! Ed and Al just wanted to make things right again! They were scared and alone and thought they had nothing left!” he roared, “But you...You took your daughter. This little girl who loved you more than anyone else in the world and made her into this! You took away her humanity! When your life seemed to be over you selfishly took hers with you! How could you?! As her father how could you even think to do this?!” He was so angry his tears were evaporating from his cheeks as they left his eyes.  
“Why, Mister Tucker?” Al asked, voice more hollow than the suit of armor he resided in, “The whole point was to pass the assessment and continue your way of life.  
But now your family's gone. What life is left?”  
There was a pause before Tucker spoke. “That's the funny thing,” he finally said, “I didn't have a reason. I fully understood. No matter what I did, my life would be ruined. I could either do it with the science or without. And so I chose science, to see if I could.”  
Ed wanted to hurt him. He wanted to hurt him so badly, but Rin beat him to it. “WRONG CHOICE!” he cried as he snapped his fingers.The room suddenly exploded with blue light. As he snapped, a large burst of flame sudden roared into life in front of Shou, sending him flying back into a cage and burning his stomach while at the same time, the candles and oil lamps that illuminated the room suddenly became a bright, blazing blue as the flames grew twenty times their original size. Ed and Al were wide eyed at Rin’s fury. They backed away slightly and Nina hid behind Al as they could feel rage coming off the teen in waves. Ed’s heart was beating a mile a minute as a voice in the back of his mind screamed at him to get as far away from those blue flames as possible, but he was too surprised to move.  
“You sick bastard…You ruined something beautiful and precious...” Rin growled sending a shiver up the spine of both Tucker and Ed, “People like you…you don’t deserve to be called human!” He looked the man dead in the eyes, his own filled with fire and pain and hate, “IT’S YOU WHO ARE THE ANIMAL! NOT HER!”  
Rin grabbed him by what was left of his burnt shirt. Tucker flinched. “P-please!” he begged, “Don’t hurt me!”  
“Tell me how to fix her!” Rin demanded, “Tell me how to fix her and I’ll let you go!”  
Tucker’s eyes grew wide as fear and regret overcame them. “I can’t,” he admitted, “The chimera is a perfect transmutation, fused to the core. There's no way to separate them now. I-I’m sorry!”  
Rin’s eyes filled with grief and despair for a moment before his face once more twisted with rage. The blue flames grew even larger, completely consuming the candles and exploding the gas lamp as Rin let out an enraged noise and threw Tucker into his desk across the room, destroying the wooden structure.  
Edward and Alphonse ducked as splinters and sparks went flying everywhere. Al looked up to see Rin stomping over to the now unconscious scientist, poised to snap. The boy gasped as he realized what was about to happen. “Rin stop!” He cried, grabbing the boy’s shoulder. Al almost let go as Rin turned to him. His gaze was distant and yet piercing, as if he was looking straight through his soul. His eyes were like a wild animal as the sides of his mouth were drawn up in a snarl. For a moment, Al though Rin was going to attack him.  
But then his face fell into despair as tears once again started to fall and he sunk to his knees as he sobbed. The fires slowly died into little more than cinders. Ed’s fear dissipated as he walked over to Rin along with Nina. He sat down next to him and Nina padded over to him and resting her head on his leg. Rin looked at her with guilt. This was his fault. If he had just let her come over that night…  
“I’m sorry Nina….” he sobbed. Ed’s eyes started to become wet too.  
Nina nudged his leg. “It ok,” she said in her low, inhuman voice, “Nina love Rin. Can Nina still come over?”  
Rin smiled at her sadly. There was no way she could come to the military dorms. He could never explain what she was. “I-I don’t think so,” he said, “But maybe we can find somewhere new for you to stay and visit you there.”  
“Maybe she can live in Risembool with Winry,” Al offered, trying to make things better, “There’s lots of space and plenty of places to play….”  
Ed nodded weakly. “Yeah…” Ed said, “Would you like that?”  
“You...come visit?” the chimera asked. All three boys nodded. “And daddy?” she said.  
The three boys looked shocked at the thought. After all that she still wanted him around. "Nina..." Al said, "I don't think your daddy should come with you..."  
"Nooo!" she whined, "Want daddy...Nina stay here with him!"  
“I agree,” a gruff voice called. They all turned to see brigadier general Basque Grand enter the room with several other military personnel. “The chimera is going nowhere with you three!” he stated.  
…  
“No!” Rin cried, “You can’t do this!” He was being held back as the men loaded Tucker and Nina into the back of a truck. They were arresting tucker and taking Nina to become some sort of lab rat, “She’s just a little girl! Let her go!” he snapped.  
“I’d hardly call that pathetic creature a little girl,” Basque Grand sneered. Rin was about to say something to him when the general cut him off. “Now, all three of you are going to speak of these events to no one,” he stated.  
“Are you kidding me?!” Rin cried, starting to fight again.  
“We’ll tell anyone we like!” Ed added trying to get at the general, “You’re just going to cover this up, but people have a right to know! You can’t just make them disappear!”  
“Shut it, maggots!” He said before transmuting his hands into a gauntlets and knocking the wind out of them. He then began to saunter away towards the truck. “Take them back to the dorms,” he ordered.  
The men that had been holding the three began to drag them away. Rin growled. “No!” he called, “They’re getting away! Let me go!” He then snapped his fingers, causing the tires of the truck to explode and cause it to tip over. Nina crawled out of the truck He then snapped them again to set the waist capes of their captors on fire to let them go.  
“Nina!” Rin called. But Nina wasn’t listening. The animal side of her was too scared and she bolted in a random directing.  
“Come on! After her!” Ed ordered, charging past Rin. The three chased after her, only to find themselves in a maze of alleyways.  
“Nina!” Al called.  
“Nina?” Edward chimed in. The three searched all around for her, up and down the street. Then, all of a sudden, Rin heard something. It was a faint dog-like yelp and what sounded like a watermelon being smashed. He froze for a moment. “NINA!” he cried before running off in the direction of the sound. Ed and Al chased after him.  
He ran as fast as he could until he came upon another alley way, and he froze in horror at what he saw. “Rin?” Al called as they caught up, “Rin what’s wrong?”  
Rin stood completely still. His mind was blank as it tried to process the image that had burned itself into his retinas. Their eyes followed his and filled with similar horror as the saw the mangled body of the chimera on the ground and a splatter of blood and organs on the wall.  
Rin slowly approached the body as Ed did the wall. He looked down on it with shock and horror. Her skull was blown out, and most of the flesh from her back was gone, now splattered on the wall. Rin sunk to his knees as he felt sick to his stomach. No words could describe the hurricane of emotions swirling inside him as he stared down at the body.  
“How...how could this happen?” Ed demanded as he placed one hand on the wall. His voice wavered as tears fell down his cheek.  
“I-its like someone used alchemy to deconstruct her,” Alphonse said, voice shaking with horror, disgust, and grief.  
Everything was silent for a moment as Rin continued to stare down at the mangled body. His brain started working again and the floodgates opened. “Nina…” he whimpered as he picked up her lifeless body and began to cradle it. “I’m sorry…” he sobbed into the fur of the dead chimera. “I’m so sorry!”


	24. A tale told by an idiot

Alphonse looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. “Colonel?” he called as he say the man’s silhouette against the dim light.  
When Roy and Riza stepped into the alley, the colonel pitied the Elric. What they had witnessed was far from what anyone their age should have to see, but then again, Edward and Alphonse had already seen far worse by their own hands. Still he could sympathize with their reaction as he could see himself acting the same way at their age.  
But then he saw Rin crouched on the ground, cradling the body, and his heart really did begin to ache. He shouldn’t have had to see this. If he hadn’t become a state alchemist, he wouldn’t have. “Do you want me to take care of the Elric brothers for you while you look after Rin?” Riza asked.  
“No...give me a minute,” he said, as he began walking over towards the Boy crouched on the ground. Alphonse acknowledged the colonel but Edward still faced the wall, as if in a trance.  
Roy knelt down beside the boy who was still cradling the dog-human hybrid. Apparently he had snapped at one of the MPs when they tried to get him to leave it. His uniform was covered in blood from the body. He placed a hand the boy’s shoulder. “Rin,” he said.  
“No!” he snapped clutching the body, “Get away!”  
“Rin, look at me!” he barked, turning the boy towards him. Rin’s eyes were wild with anger, despair, and guilt. Roy sighed and placed his other hand on the back of his head and pulled him in for a hug. “It’s alright,” he said calmly and quietly.  
“No it's not!” the boy growled, “Nina’s dead!”  
“I know,” the older man stated.  
“And it's my fault,” he spat at himself.  
“No it’s not,”  
“Yes it is!” Rin insisted.  
“No!” Roy almost snapped, “Listen to me, this is not your fault. You could not control the situation. Do you understand?” Rin nodded slowly. “Ok, good,” he said, “Now I need you to let go.”  
“What?”  
“Let go of the body, Rin,” he restated. There was a long pause before Rin began to move. He slowly dropped the carcass. “Good…” Roy said. “Now come on,” he said pulling the boy to his feet, “Let's get you out of this alley.” He lead the boy over to Riza. “Do you think you can find a shock blanket for him?” he asked, “I need to have a word with Ed still.” They both saw the boy was still clapping his hands and touching the wall, as if trying to transmute the girl back to life.  
Riza nodded. “Come on, Rin,” she said gently, taking the boy by the arm. He didn’t speak and hesitated before moving, but eventually did so, allowing her to lead him away.  
Roy turned towards the boys. “There's no use, kid.” he said, “You can't go around trying to bring every living creature that dies on you back to life, Edward. It's not possible, and it's not healthy.” That was a lesson Roy learned all to well. Ed stopped and turned towards him. “Anyway, who'd you be helping by bringing back a malformed chimera?” he said, “You need to realise that dwelling on things and regretting isn’t going to heal anything. The world isn’t fair. It’s ugly and it's horrible and sometimes there aren’t happy endings but we have to keep moving forward. You can let yourself mourn but you also have to get on with your life.”  
Ed stared at him incredulously. “Get on with my life?” he spat like it was an insult.  
“Time stands still for now one. If you let yourself get sucked into what could have been and what should have been, you’ll lose track of your future. Things will only get worse if you let yourself become stagnant,” Roy said, “There's a reason you became a State Alchemist, right Ed? Can you really afford to get distracted?” Edward glared at him but didn’t turn away. Roy nodded before turning to walk away. He was glad he had gotten through to the boy. While they may have been harsh words, Ed needed to hear them. If there was anyone who knew how much he needed someone to tell him that, it was Roy himself.  
He then headed out of the alley where he found Rin sitting in the back of a van with a blanket over his shoulders. Riza was sitting next to him with a hand his back, comfortingly. She looked up to see Roy approaching. He smiled at her. “Thanks,” he said, “How is he doing?”  
“Well enough to tell you himself,” she said, getting up so that Roy could sit down next to the boy. Roy observed him carefully. His whole front was covered in blood. His look was still distant and pained, but not quite as distraught. More angry and bitter than anything else.  
“How are you doing, Rin?” he asked.  
“How do you think? I just saw someone I was close to’s body on the ground and it’s my fault,” he muttered, not looking at Roy.  
“It’s not your fault,” Roy said.  
“Yes it is!” Rin snapped, “I’m the one who let her out of the truck, causing her to run off.”  
“Maybe so, but if you hadn’t she would have been carted off to be analyzed and tested on,” Roy said, “besides, you couldn’t have known that would have happened anyways. What you did was kinder for her in the end.”  
“Are you saying she deserves to be dead right now?!” he cried, glaring at the man.  
“No,” Roy responded, turning to Rin, “I would never say that. All I was saying is that you trying to free her, no matter the outcome, was ultimately better for her than being carted off to a laboratory as a specimen.” Roy looked over to the boy. He didn’t look angry at Roy anymore, but he still looked pretty upset. Tears threatened to fall again as he glared at the ground. “Come on,” Roy said, “Let’s get you home.”  
“Riza, do you mind driving us?” he asked, turning to his lieutenant. She gave a small smile and nodded.  
….  
“So much for getting home in time to kiss my daughter goodnight…” Hughes muttered as he got out of his car checked his watch. He looked up to see Roy and Riza walking towards a car with someone covered in a blanket. “Hey, where are you going?” he said.  
Roy looked over his shoulder before turning himself and the person he was escorting towards him. “We’re taking this one home. I’ve been excused on account of getting a statement from him,” he explained.  
Hughe’s eyes widened as he saw the distant and somber look on his face. “Rin?!” he gasped, “Oh my god, what happened to him?...he didn’t...see it happen, did he?”  
Roy shook his head. “No, He showed up on the scene with the Elric brothers,” he explained, “He just happened to know the victim.”  
Hughes nodded, feeling sad for the boy. “Make sure he gets some rest,” he said.  
….  
Rin was silent during the car ride home. Roy thanked Riza and then brought Rin inside to sit on the couch. Kuro had hopped up next to the boy and pressed against him comfortingly. He then went upstairs to pick out some clothing for him. Rin still hadn’t bothered to pick up the rest of what he had left behind.  
He handed the boy the clean clothing. “Go wash up for now and give me your uniform,” he said, “I’ll get as much blood out of it as I can for now and then you can take it to the cleaners tomorrow if you feel up to it.”  
Rin nodded. “Why did you bring me home?” he asked, “I thought you said you didn’t want me in the house anymore.”  
“No, I said that if your really wanted to be so independent you should be supporting yourself, because that’s what being independent means,” he said, “I never said I didn’t want you around.”  
“So you’re not mad at me?” he asked.  
“Oh, I’m still mad,” he said, “But my biggest concern at the moment is your overall well being.”  
Rin looked away. “Oh,” he said.  
“Speaking of which,” he said, “How are you feeling?”  
“Still like a shitty person…” he said, “but I think I’m angrier at Tucker more than anyone…” Rin’s grip tightened on the blanket. “How could anyone do something like that...to their own child!” he hissed. His face scrunched up in pain and anger, but he didn't look like he was going to cry again.  
“I don’t know Rin,” Roy responded sadly, “Some people in this world have no morality.”  
“You probably see shit like that all the time don’t you?” he said more than asked, “You didn’t even look surprised...this is more than just not the first time you found out an alchemist or anyone else has done something so horrible...I mean, I know you’ve been to war and stuff, but....”  
Roy sighed. “This is part of why I didn’t want you in the military,” he said, “I see death and horrors like this all the time, not just in wars. The world is a sick place. You know part of my job is to stop alchemists who break the laws of alchemy and to stop terrorists, but sometimes state alchemists are called in to simply clean up the messes afterwards….” ‘Or make them…’ he thought. “Rin...there’s something you need to know,” he started, still wondering if it would be a good idea to tell him now, “As a state alchemist, you aren’t going to get to make your own decisions. You can’t pick the missions you get sent on. You are bound to your commanding officer’s orders. Sometimes that means saving and protecting lives but it also means t-”  
“If you’re going to say something to get me to stop, then save your breath,” he said, “I’m not going to listen.”  
Roy’s eyes widened before he frowned. “Even after seeing what you saw tonight, you are still so determined?” He asked incredulously, “You saw the body of a friend lying mangled in an alleyway. If you weren’t one, you wouldn’t have to see stuff like that.”  
“And if I weren’t one, Nina would either still be dead or being sent off to a laboratory right now!” the boy snapped, meeting Roy’s for the first time that night of his own accord. They were filled with sadness and grief, but also with determination. “Yeah, I hated what I saw. It made me want to throw up! I realised that stuff is still going to happen even if I’m not in the military,” he continued, “Worse might even happen, but it’s better to try to do something then to just sit back and do nothing. I’d rather feel shitty but know I tried than feel shitty for not trying at all, because I know the difference between the two feelings and the second is a hell of a lot worse!”  
Roy narrowed his eyes. “How?” he asked genuinely confused, “How could you possibly know the difference?”  
Rin looked down at his hands again. “Yesterday, I told Nina that maybe she and the could hang out at my dorm sometime. Like a sleepover. She asked if she could come over that night,” he said, “But I said no. If I had just let her come over, none of this would have happened.”  
“Rin, you can’t blame yourself in that situation,” Roy responded, “You never would have known.”  
“Doesn’t mean I don’t still feel regret!” the boy argued, “And so no matter what you say, no matter what I have to do, so long as there’s a chance I can stop something like that from happening again to someone else, I won’t stop being a state alchemist.” Roy looked at him in surprise. For a moment there, he saw himself making his declaration to change the country after Ishval.  
Rin then grabbed the clothes he had been given and started heading for the stairs. “Besides,” he said, turning back, “I promised Ed and Al I would do whatever I could to help them get their bodies back to normal. I can’t go back on them now.” With that, he marched upstairs and headed into the bathroom.  
Roy sighed before starting to absentmindedly pet the demon cat still on the couch. What was he going to do. After that, Roy doubted anything he could say would change Rin’s mind. He gave a dry laugh. It really was no wonder that people thought they were related. Rin acted a lot like him when he was younger. Rin definitely had a worse temper, but he couldn’t say he wasn’t any less stubborn than that boy was. And if so, then the boy was definitely not going to reconsider his decision any time soon. Heck, maybe if he did tell him about Ishval he’d make the same damn declaration he did. Roy groaned. This kid was going to run headlong into whatever danger he could find and there was nothing he could do about it. Despite his worry over this, Roy couldn’t help but feel a hint of pride at his determination.


	25. Here, after

Rin woke up late that morning, still very tired. His sleep had been fitful with nightmares. He dragged himself out of bed and began to climbed down the stairs. His dad was nowhere to be found. He did find a skillet with scrambled egg on the counter. With a note.  
Called you in sick today. For future reference, however, you’re going to need to invest in an alarmclock to make sure you get up earlier. Tardiness is not taken lightly in the military. For now, enjoy breakfast.  
\--Dad  
Rin tossed the note and tucked in. He was right. It wasn’t like he was going to have his father at the dorms to wake him up. As much as he disliked his temporary dorm, he didn’t know if he could stay at home. Although it was clear now that Roy hadn’t kicked him out by any means-for which he was very grateful-he didn’t want to be constantly arguing with his dad about being in the military. And it wasn’t too terrible. He had more closet space and since Al and Ed were going to be in the dorms now too, it would be easier to visit and speak with them. Still he wondered if his dad would let him use the washing machine at home instead….  
Suddenly, the phone began to ring. Rin stood up to go over and answer it. “Hello?” he asked.  
“Rin!” Yukio’s voice came from the other end of the line, “Good to hear from you. I didn’t know if someone would pick up because of the time. I would have called sooner, but there was a delay with the train. I’m finally in Xing.”  
Rin smiled. “That’s awesome! What’s it like?” he asked.  
“Very foggy,” he said, “There’s marshland not to far from here. It’s funny. I had to cross a desert to get here, but once you actually get into the heart of the country there’s a lot of greenery and water. That's actually why I was delayed in calling you. It was supposed to be an overnight train ride, but part of the tracks flooded and they had to hault it while men spent three hours putting down sand.”  
“Sorry to hear about that,” Rin said.  
“It’s fine,” he responded, “So how are things at home. Did you pass your exam?”  
Rin paused. “Yeah! Things are great!” he lied, “I passed my exam but I haven’t gotten my state title yet. Ed did too.”  
“That’s good,” Yukio said, “Congratulations….but how did Dad react?”  
“It was….bad,” Rin said wincing, “I think he’s still upset...but he doesn’t hate me, so that’s good.”  
“Good…” Yukio said, “So has anything else happened when I was gone?” Rin’s mind flashed back to the previous night. The image if Nina’s body was still fresh in his mind. He held the phone for a long moment in silence until his brother’s voice snapped him out of it. “Rin!”  
“Huh?”  
“Rin, what happened there?” he asked in worry, “You stopped talking.”  
“It’s nothing,” he said trying to brush it off.  
“No,” Yukio’s voice became serious as he spoke, “Something’s wrong and you need to tell me. If you don’t I’ll call Dad at work!”  
Rin growled before relenting. “Fine…” He muttered. There was another pause. He really didn’t want to talk about this. “It’s Nina,” he said in a low voice, “....She’s dead.”  
There was a gasp on the other end. “What?!” Yukio breathed, “The little girl? How?! What happened?”  
“Her father...He turned her into a chimera!” Rin spat like the thought made him sick  
There was a long silence on the other end as Yukio gaped in horror at the thought. “He did WHAT?!” he cried, “Why? Why would he do that?”  
“Because he was a monster, that's why,” he growled, “He did the same to his wife two years ago. That's how he made a talking chimera.”  
“That’s….that’s horrible…” Yukio whispered, “So in trying to turn her into a chimera, he killed her?”  
“No,” Rin said quietly, “She survived that, but then Basque Grand showed up trying to cover things up! He tried to take her away in a van. I stopped him, but Nina ran away.” Rin stopped for a moment to contain his emotion. “And when we found her...someone had killed her…” Rin’s voice shook, “An alchemist deconstructed her. We don’t know who or why…”  
“Could the person have been trying to separate her from the beast?” Yukio asked, still feeling sick.  
Rin shrugged. “I don’t know…” He said quietly, “Is it bad that I don’t want that to be the case? Because...I want someone to hurt or to hate for this...and I can’t hate the person if he was only trying to help.”  
“I don’t think that makes you a bad person, Rin,” Yukio said, “I think it just makes you human.” Rin nodded. “Rin, I’d love to continue talking, but I have to go,” he said, “Long distance calls are expensive, and I don’t have any change left for the phone booth.”  
“Its ok...sorry if my news ruined your day,” he said.  
“It’s alright,” he said, “I’ll call dad later. Have a good day.”  
“You too,” he said before his brother hung up. Rin sighed and put down the phone. He sighed as he didn’t know what to do today to keep himself busy. Most of his books and things were at the dorm now. He looked over to the closet where his stained uniform hung, still damp from the careful hand washing. His dad had gotten out most of it (probably because he knew how to from his own experience) but there were still some patches. Rin huffed and went to grab a garbage bag. Looks like he’d be going to the cleaners then. He tied the garbage bag around the hanging uniform so he wouldn’t get odd looks while he was out and headed to the door.  
….  
“Where is it….” he muttered as he wandered the streets. He knew there was a cleaners around here somewhere. Maybe he was supposed to turn on fifteenth street and not sixteenth…  
As he stared up at the street signs, he didn’t notice as a man suddenly brushed passed him. Rin was thrown off balance by the large man. “Hey!” he cried, before turning to glare at the man, “Watch where you’re going!”  
The guy stopped to stare at Rin through his sunglasses, almost analyzing him. Rin did the same. He was a tall man with white hair and tan skin. He wore some kind of yellow jacket, but his most noticeable feature was the X shaped scar on his face, covering both his eyes. “Do I...know you?” the man asked, “You look familiar.”  
“Hardly,” Rin said, “I think I would remember meeting a guy like you. Actually, I haven’t seen anyone like you before...Who are you? Are you from around here?”  
The man tensed up. “That’s none of your business, kid,” he growled before turning and walking away.  
Rin frowned at him. “Yeah, well screw you too!” he called after him. Rin shook his head and walked away.  
It was only hours later that Scar realized why that kid was so familiar as he walked past a newsstand. He picked up a few papers from the previous day and ground his teeth in anger.  
YOUNG PRODIGIES ELRIC AND MUSTANG PASS THE ALCHEMY EXAM AT ONLY THIRTEEN  
SON OF FLAME ALCHEMIST CONTINUES LEGACY AS HE ACES EXAM IN FIERY DISPLAY  
FLAME ALCHEMIST RELUCTANTLY PASSING ON THE TORCH TO SON?  
Scar growled as he crumpled up the newsprint and shoved it into a trash can. Roy Mustang...one of the monsters that directly ravaged his land and slaughtered his people during the war...His spawn was now joining him among the ranks of those monsters. The blood of a murderer pumped through that child’s veins and he was already realizing it. It was only a matter of time before he started carrying his father’s cursed baton.  
“I will end that boy, brother,” he muttered as he clenched the fist of his tattooed arm, “before he can follow in that man’s bloody footsteps.”  
….  
Rin grumbled as he exited the cleaners. The woman behind the counter was so annoying! She freaked out over his uniform when she saw it and kept treating him like a baby. He only got her to leave him alone when he convinced her that it was wine stains instead of blood...but then that got her started up on a rant that he was too young to drink and the dangers of alcohol. He had to sit through a thirty minute rant before he could finally leave.  
When he did, he realized it was almost noon. His stomach growled and he checked his pocket only to find he hadn’t brought enough money for lunch. He knew he had some at his dorm...maybe he could head to central command and get something there. He began walking a long the streets, heading in the direction of the capitol. As he did, he passed by Grand Central Station. Many people were huddled around the building as they exited and entered. There was a guy that looked like he had come back from a safari, plenty of businessmen, a couple apparently from Parma as they were arguing to each other in Italian (He didn’t care what Roy said about what the real name for the language of Parma was, that was clearly Italian. He’d heard Shiro speak it enough over the phone to be able to recognize it), and dozens of other odd strangers. He thought he even saw a guy in a mime costume. Rin didn’t even know mimes existed in this universe!  
However, out of all these odd strangers in the crowd, the one person who stuck out the most was a skinny blonde girl in a white hat and sundress staring at a map she clutched in her hand. Rin cocked an eyebrow at her. She was kinda pretty actually, but it looked like she was all on her own. She seemed completely distracted and was oblivious to her surroundings as she was absorbed in her map.   
‘She must be from out of town…’ Rin thought to himself, “She doesn’t look like she's ever been to Central before.” Maybe he should offer her assistance. “Hey,” he called to her, “You look a little lost. Need some help?”  
The girl looked up and smiled. “Oh sure, thanks!” she said, “I just need some directions if you could give me some. I’m trying to figure out the best route to the Central Command military offices.”  
Rin blinked in surprise. “Sure, I’m actually heading there myself. But why are you headed there?” he asked, “generally tourists don’t come to see the military base. The capital, yeah, but not the military offices.”  
“Well I’m visiting some friends of mine named Edward and Alphonse,” she explained.  
Rin narrowed his eyes. “You know Ed and Al?” he asked, “Wait, are you Winry Rockbell?”  
“Yeah! Are you friends with them too?” she asked.  
“Yeah, I’m Rin Mustang!” he said holding out a hand, “It’s nice to meet you, though I’ll admit you’re not quite what I pictured you to be.”  
She frowned at him. “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” she snapped at him.  
Rin began to feel nervous. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way!” he said, “I guess it’s just when they told me about you, I thought you’d be a really big and burly girl with short hair who wears overalls and stuff!”  
Winry narrowed his eyes at him. “And what gave you that idea?” she snapped, “What did those boys say about me that would make you think that, huh?!”  
“NOTHING!” he tried to cover for himself, “That's just the first image that pops in my head when people say a girl is a mechanic! Cause, you know, mechanics deal with heavy machinery and stuff.” There were very few people in this world that could make Rin nervous just by the tone of their voice. Most of them happened to be women, and now Winry had joined their ranks.  
Winry’s eyes then softened and she sighed. He didn’t really mean any harm by his statement, so there was no reason to be mad. Though why he thought it was a good idea to say that was beyond her. Though to be honest, she could think of another boy who had the same amount of tact at times. “No wonder you’re friends...” she muttered. “I guess to be fair, you weren’t exactly what I expected either when they talked about you in their letter,” she said.  
“What did they say?” he asked.  
“Well, they said you were short, so I thought they meant Edward had finally found someone smaller than him,” she noted with a smirk.  
Rin scowled at her. “Why would he say something like that? I’m still way taller than him,” Rin grumbled.  
“Well it was actually Alphonse,” she explained amusement in her voice, “he said you were a ‘shorter big brother like Ed.’” Rin huffed as they walked along and Winry hummed in amusement. It was true, he was a shorter older brother. He had said it himself. “So you said you were Rin Mustang,” she said, “So are you related to Colonel Mustang?”  
“Yeah, he’s my dad,” Rin said, “but we aren’t related. He adopted my brother and I.”  
Winry looked surprised, “Really? I didn’t think he was the kind of guy who liked kids,” she said.  
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Rin asked, “Is it really that surprising?”  
“Sorry,” Winry said, “I only met him once when he met Ed and Al so I don’t know him well, but he seemed pretty cold and distant.”  
“Yeah, I guess he can be that way sometimes,” Rin said before smirking, “But other times he can be goofy and dorky like any other dad.”  
“Seriously?” she said raising an eyebrow.  
Rin grinned. “You have no idea!” he said, “He used to play games with us and chase us a lot when we were little, though he was never as dorky as Uncle Maes. Be warned if you meet him, by the way. He’s armed with photos of his daughter and will hunt you down to show them to you.”  
Winry snicker. “Oh no,” she said sarcastically, “I’m terrified.”  
Rin snickered. “You should be. He’ll rant for hours about her even though she can do little more than sleep and eat,” he said, “she is pretty cute though. Maybe you can visit them sometime.” “Hey so I was wondering did you really make Ed’s arm and leg or do you just do the repairs for it?” he asked.  
Winry gave a proud look. “You bet I built it!” she exclaimed.   
“That’s so cool,” he said, “Your automail is really awesome!”  
Winry’s eyes widened in delight. “You really think so?” she asked.  
“Yeah,” he said, “How do you even make something like that? It looks really complex.”  
Winry’s excitement only increased. “Well if you insist….”  
…..  
Rin regretted asking about automail. For the entire rest of the walk she spoke a mile a minute about the intricate details of automail. Rin couldn’t keep up with half of what she was saying even if he had the interest too, and he couldn't get a word in edgewise.  
“And that's just the mechanisms needed for proper wrist dexterity!” she said cheerfully, “Now the fingers on the other hand….”  
“We’re here,” Rin finally said.  
Winry looked around. “I guess I got lost in my own thoughts…” she said, “Well, thanks for your help. I guess I just have to find them now.”  
“It’s about noon, so Ed might be getting lunch,” he said, “Try the cafeteria down that way. I’m gonna go see if I can find Alphonse.”  
….  
Rin frowned as he exited the dorms. He swore he would find Al there. He had already checked the library and the fountain, and the giant suit of armor was nowhere to be found. “Where could the big guy be?” he muttered. As he walked past the JAG office building.  
“Rin?” he heard a familiar voice call, “What are you doing here? I thought Mustang said you were sick?”   
Rin smiled. “There you are,” he said, “I’ve been looking for you. I’m here because I met your friend Winry and she wanted to see you guys so I ended up leading her over here.”  
“Really?” Al asked, “Where is she now?”  
“I told her Ed might be at the cafeteria,” he said, “so she’s probably over that way.”  
“Alright,” Alphonse said, “Let’s go find them then.” The boy in the suit began leading the way.  
“Yeah, even if they aren’t there, I’ll want to get something to eat. I’m starving,” he said.  
“So how did you meet up with Winry?” Al asked.  
“I was taking some clothing to the cleaners and I was heading passed the train station when I met up with her,” he said, “How has your day gone?”  
“Not so well,” Alphonse sighed, “We’re still getting over what happened. Brother especially didn’t take it well. I wanted to get my mind off of it by looking into something called the philosopher’s stone, but I can’t.”  
“Why not?” he asked, “Your brother’s a state alchemist so you should at least get thirty minutes browsing time.”  
“I can’t do that because brother turned in his license to be able to look for Nina’s murderer,” Al said sadly.  
Rin stopped. “He what?!” he cried.  
“He got angry at the Colonel for not letting him go and decided to resign to go off and do his own investigation,” Al said.  
“That’s crazy!” Rin cried, “He really just gave up all that hard work for nothing? Who says he’ll even be able to find who killed her, especially on his own? He’s got no resources, no leads, and if he really does find them, who’s to say he won’t get killed himself!”  
“I know!” Alphonse cried in frustration as they neared the cafeteria, “I miss Nina too, but we aren’t police. We can’t just take this into our own hands.”  
“No matter how much we want to…” Rin muttered. He’d admit, a large part of him really wanted to get revenge on Nina’s killer, but it wasn’t worth giving up his state alchemist license for. With how much she cheered them on Nina wouldn’t have wanted that. Heck she probably wouldn’t have wanted them to try to stop whoever it was.  
Rin was snapped out of his thoughts as they got close to the cafeteria. However neither Edward nor Winry were outside. “Maybe they’re inside,” Al suggested. Rin saw a man leaving the cafeteria.   
“Hey!” he called, “Did you see a little blonde guy in a red coat in there?”  
“You mean Edward Elric?” he asked, “Sorry. You missed him by about twenty minutes. He was inspecting a tire tracks outside and then just ran off.”  
“Was there a girl with him?” Alphonse asked.  
“No, but there was one waiting for him before,” the man said, “But she ran off before we met her. Don’t know where she went.”  
Rin frowned. “Well isn’t that just fantastic….” he muttered. All of a sudden, Hughes came running up behind them, panting. “Uncle Hughes?” Rin said, “What’s wrong?”  
“Have either of you boys seen a meat van here today owned by a butcher named Barry?” he asked. Both shook their head no. “Damn it!” he growled, “I think that truck might be being used by ‘the Chopper.’” “It has skipped over several inspection points and it's the perfect way for someone to transport corpses as ‘the Chopper’ has been doing,” he explained.  
Alphonse gasped. “Brother was inspecting tire marks here earlier!” he said, “do you think he could have gone after the van?”  
“Only one way to find out,” Rin said grimly.


	26. Little victories

Ed’s heart was pumping as he pushed passed the hanging animal bodies. He had never felt so terrified as the mad butcher chased him. He had come to this shop in search of Winry. When she disappeared without a trace as that refrigerated van did, he had been worried something bad had happened. His suspicion had been correct, as the owner of the shop named Barry had not only kidnapped Winry with plans on carving her up, but also captured him with plans to do the same, taking his automail arm so he couldn’t transmute.  
Still he managed to escape from the chair he had been tethered to. Now he was running for his life from the crazed man with a clever. He had to get his arm back. After slashing the man with a sharp piece of metal, he made a break for the table where his automail was and Winry was tied up.  
He reached for it but was cut off as the clever came down just in front of his hand. He looked up in horror to see the man leering down at him with a deranged look in his eye. “It’s going to take a little more than a paper cut to slow me down!” the man growled in delight. Both children screamed and Edward bolted as the man tried to slash at him. Ed began panting as he became more dizzy with blood loss. The open wound on his shoulder was bleeding profoundly and his elevated heart rate wasn’t helping. He finally bumped into one of the pig bodies and fell over. As he tried to get up, he found the butcher had caught up to him and was looming over him with a bloodthirsty gaze.  
Ed tried to crawl away but was unable to escape him. “You know, I was going to put on a show for you and cut up the girl first, but I guess you’re just too impatient,” Barry sighed with a smile, “Guess I’ll just have to move onto the main course!” Ed was too scared to move. He was going to die. Die alone and scared and Al would be stuck in that armor forever, waiting out eternity because he failed. Barry raised his clever and Ed screamed his life flashed before his eyes as the blade was about to come down.  
SNAP!  
“What the-?!”  
Ed found himself surrounded by a sudden heat. He opened his eyes to find a line of roaring blue flames between he and the butcher. The man glanced around in confusion. Then, one of the hanging animal cadavers caught fire. Then another, and another, until the butcher was surrounded by the blue flames. “What the hell is this?!” Barry demanded.   
“The end of the line,” a voice rung out. Both turned to see Rin step out of the darkness, poised to snap. A furious look adorned his face. Rin was absolutely livid at the sight before him. The blood he could see leaking from Ed’s shoulder made him even more so. “Nobody hurts my friends!” he growled, “Not you, or anyone else! l won’t let it happen ever again!” He snapped and the air in front of Barry exploded. The man cried out as he was sent careening back by the blast into the arms of a waiting group of policemen.  
“Brother!” a voice cried. Ed jumped at the sound and turned to see Al running towards him. The boy knelt down next to him.”Are you alright?” he asked, voice full of worry.   
It took Ed a moment to find his voice but he finally did as he shook his head. “I think…” he said, “I just....” He tried to stand up but stumbled. “Ok...no I’m not,” he breathed.  
….  
Rin watched as the police took Barry away. He smiled slightly, knowing he wouldn’t be hurting anyone anymore. Even if he wasn’t Nina’s killer, he still took some satisfaction in the fact that Barry would now be behind bars. “Well done, Kiddo,” Maes said clapping him on the back, “Way to swoop in there. Your friend would have been done for otherwise.”  
“Thanks…” Rin said before glancing over to where Ed was, “I think I’m gonna go check up on him.” He began walking over to where Ed was sitting with his brother. Ed had a shock blanket on his shoulders. “Hey,” he called before sitting down next to them. “How are you feeling?”   
Ed simply shrugged, not looking up. “When I was certain that he was going to kill me, my mind went blank, and I didn't have any hope anymore. The only thing I could do was scream my lungs out,” he admitted.  
“Brother…” Al whispered placing a hand on his shoulder.  
“I felt so helpless. I couldn't even bring myself to believe someone might save me,” he continued, “Then you and Al showed up.”  
“Well we were worried about you,” Rin said, “You disappeared and Uncle Hughes told us Barry had been using a delivery truck. We weren’t just going to sit around and wait for you to turn up after hearing something like that.” “So what are you going to do now? Are you going to keep trying to find Nina’s killer?” he asked.  
“No,” Edward said, “I need to focus on getting our bodies back to normal. I realized when I was in there, that if I died, I would be leaving Al alone, stuck in that armor forever. We have to be there for eachother because no one else will.”  
Rin frowned. “You’re wrong, though,” he said, “You don’t just have yourselves. You’ve got me, my brother, Uncle Hughes, Winry, and a whole bunch of people looking out for you.”  
Ed looked up at him and smiled. “I guess we do…” he mused, “We may not be powerful. We may not be in control. We may just be insignificant humans, but at least me have one another to turn to. Hopefully, that will be enough.”  
….  
Edward walked down the hall leading away from Mustang’s office with his State Alchemist title and watch in hand. He supposed he should be grateful the Colonel was willing to let him take back his decision to leave the military, but he wouldn’t speak his gratitude. He stared down at the parchment in his hands, reading over again. “Fullmetal Alchemist” he read allowed, “Major Edward Elric is hereby stationed under the authority of Colonel Roy Mustang who will supervise his progress and research...”  
“Ed!” Rin called as he ran down the hall. “Check it out!” he said, waving a piece of paper in the air, “I got my state title!”  
“Well, let’s hear it,” he said, turning towards him.  
“We give the name, 'Spitfire' to thee Rin Mustang,” he read aloud, “In the name of Fuhrer King Bradley.” “The Spitfire Alchemist! How cool is that?!” Rin gushed raising his hands into the air.  
“It certainly suits you,” Ed said smiling.  
“What about you, what’s yours?” he asked.  
“The Fullmetal Alchemist,” Ed said proudly.  
“Fullmetal? That’s awesome!” Rin approved, “It makes you sound pretty intimidating.”  
“Thanks,” he said, “so who are you stationed under? I’m under your dad.”  
Rin’s smile fell. “Actually I’m under him too,” he said examining his sheet, “It says I’ll be transfered over to him in a few days. It’s kinda surprising actually. I thought I’d be under one of General Raven’s men instead.”  
“I guess this is a good thing,” Ed said, “It’ll be easier to stick together this way. You could have been sent to West city indefinitely under someone else.”   
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Rin said.  
….  
“Roy, open a bottle of champagne, because it’s time to celebrate!” Major Hughes's voice rang out into the office as he burst through the door with a paper in hand. Roy and Riza looked up. He slapped the page on the table. The words transfer were written across the top and there was a seal of approval on the bottom. “You now officially can tell Rin what to do again,” he said.  
Roy smiled as he picked up the paper. “Thank you,” he said as he examined it, “I don’t know if this is worth celebrating, but it certainly is quite the relief.”  
Riza frowned as she looked at the paper “Sir, aren’t you worried that this might cause an upset?” she said, “He is your son after all. People might think you’re playing favorites or giving him special treatment.”  
“I realise that,” he said frowning, “I’ll just have to be careful then. I won’t be able to stop all the rumors that may form or commentary, but I might be able to disperse some animosity that may form if I treat him and fullmetal the same way.”  
“That might not be so hard,” Hughes said, “If you’ve heard what he did today.” “You know the serial killer we nabbed? It was actually Rin who took him out and saved Fullmetal.”  
Riza raised an eyebrow but Roy’s expression didn’t change. “I’m not surprised,” he said, “I may be a little protective of him, but I don’t doubt for a second Rin’s capabilities. He’s always been a tough kid. Combine that with his determination and flame alchemy abilities and he’s more than a force to be reckoned with, even for another state alchemist.”  
Hughes raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he said, “I knew you were proud of him, but with the way you worry about him I didn’t think you had THAT much confidence in him.”  
Roy shook his head. “I never doubted his abilities,” he said, “While as any parent, I may worry for his safety, my worry towards what he’s capable of has always been not his expertise but what he will be made to use it for.”   
Hughes nodded in understanding.  
Riza frowned. “I wonder how people will react to this,” she asked, “It’s only a matter of time before the news finds out about Rin and Edward facing off against a serial killer. That will easily make front page. I wonder how the public will react and how that will affect us.”  
“That we definitely can’t control," Roy said, “I’m afraid we’ll just have to wait and see on that.”  
…  
Fuhrer Bradley began walking home after work. The sky was pitch black and the streets were mostly empty. He frowned. His wife had most likely already retired for the evening. It wasn’t his fault he had been at work so late. There had been a fool who set him back by two hour in his work by talking in circles trying to kiss up to him. He wished he could have just stabbed that man, but he had to keep up appearances. So now here he was walking home alone in the dark...or so he thought  
“So,” a voice called, “I hear you actually transferred the boy over to his father.”  
Bradley turned to see Lust leaning under a lamp post. “I suppose Pride told you,” he responded.  
“Who else do you think?” she asked, “Father isn’t happy that you did this without consulting him.”  
“I’m not worried about his response,” Wrath responded nonchalantly, “Once he sees my reasoning, he’ll be more than understanding.”  
“Oh?” she responded with curiosity, “And why did you?”  
“We need to keep Mustang appeased for now,” he said, “The man is stubborn and clever. He’ll do anything for those boys so I doubt he’ll take no for an answer. His digging around to get what he wants might help him find things we don’t want him to see. We can’t afford any suspicion for now.”  
Lust nodded. “Are you sure that man is worth keeping around for a sacrifice?” she asked, “Sometimes he seems like too much trouble.”  
Wrath nodded. “It is infuriating,” he said, “but looking for another sacrifice might be even more so. We aren’t even sure his boys would be suitable replacements.” “Still,” he said, “It’s important to keep all our assets together. What better way to than to keep them all in one division. Besides, we can always separate them if necessary.”  
Lust smiled. “Well played, Wrath,” she said, “And I thought Envy was the manipulative one of us. Careful, you might make him jealous.”  
Bradley laughed. “He’s jealous of everyone,” he said, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I must go. I believe people may think it strange that the Fuhrer is talking to sketchy looking woman in the darkened streets.” Lust nodded before departing. Wrath then continued on his path as if the conversation had never happened.


	27. Reality of the situation

It had been a week since Rin had gotten his title and had been officially transferred to Roy. As suspected, news of Barry’s capture had spread high and low. And once the media had found out two boys had cracked the case, one of which almost getting killed in the process, they went mad. It was on the front page everywhere from the city’s most prominent newspaper to the seediest tabloid.  
There were plenty of angry voices against him for letting his son into the military at such a young age. A few reporters even tried to tail him down. One woman tried to follow him to his house….whom Kuro had confused for a robber or assailant and Roy had to stop him from attacking her.  
One or two people had tried to interview Rin himself, but thankfully they were fairly reasonable. Still, that didn’t make Roy any less thankful that he had sent him an the Elric brothers to Youswell for an inspection mission. It was only a matter of time before a crazy one dead set on getting “the truth” came after him. Thank goodness he and his men were transferring to east city soon.  
“Would you guys stop looking at those?” Roy called as he continued to make preparations. He glanced over to where Furey, Havock, and Breda were gathered in a circle looking at different newspapers.  
“Come on!” Jean said, “Aren’t you the least bit curious as to what they say?”  
“Yeah, aren’t you worried about what’s being said about you?” Furey added, “your reputation in the military could be tarnished!”  
“My reputation won’t get ruined. The people who actually matter already know the situation,” Roy said, “I don’t care what the general public thinks of me. It’s none of their business in the first place.”  
“Are you sure you don’t care? Some of these are pretty nasty,” Breda said, “Like this one: ‘Flame Alchemist: Hypocrite or Liar?”  
“This one is targeting the military,” Furey said, “‘Teenagers Becoming State Alchemists: Is Your Child Next to be Drafted?’”  
“Jeez! How did they get away with that one?!” Breda questioned.  
“It’s a tabloid. They get away with everything!” Jean responded. “This one’s actually kind of funny,” he said chuckling as he pointed out one, “‘Preteens Taking on Serial Killer Shows the Police Force’s True Competency.’” Furey gave an amused snort and Breda snickered.  
Roy sighed. “I’m glad to see you’re enjoying yourself so much over there,” he said sarcastically, “especially when you three should be getting ready to transfer.”  
“Sorry, Sir,” Furey said, “But we are serious. Some of these you should really look at and consider suing for laible.”  
“Yeah! Look at these!” Breda says, “‘Roy Mustang Sends Son After Murders’.”  
“‘Flame Alchemist Fans the Flames of His Own Son’s Demise’,”  
“‘Flame Alchemist Enlisting for a Children’s Crusade’,”  
“‘Spitfire and Fullmetal Tied up in Government Approved Child Labor’,”  
“‘Age to Kill Lowering as we Speak’,”  
Furey opened another magazine and gasped at what he saw. “...Ok...never mind,” he said, “you REALLY don’t want to look at these…” The other men looked confused before looking over Furey’s shoulder. Their eyes widened at what they saw. Breda had to stop himself from laughing while Jean looked disturbed.  
This caught Roy’s attention. “What? What’s so funny?” he questioned.  
“You don’t want to know,” Havock said sighing.  
“It’s pretty bad,” Breda added, still trying not to laugh.  
Roy narrowed his eyes before snatching the magazine from Furey. The sergeant major began to panic. “Wait Sir! Don’t!” he warned, but it was too late. Roy froze as he read the title of the article.  
“Fullmetal and Spitfire: More than Friends?”  
There was a long, awkward pause. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife.  
“Uh….Sir?”  
Roy snapped his free hand and the magazine was set alight. The men shrunk in their seats a little. “Furey,” Roy said in a low voice.  
The man practically jumped. “Yes, Sir?” he asked.  
“Figure out who the author of that article was and get them on the line for me…” He growled, “I have a few...strong words for them.”  
“Yes, Sir!” the man saluted before running off.  
“Breda, Havock,” he continued, “l want the rest of those papers in a pyre for me to burn.” They nodded and immediately began to gather the rest up. Roy then went into his office and slumped in his chair, rubbing his temples. What was wrong with people?! He knew there were tabloids that wrote crazy stories about his own love life but why them?! They were kids! Hopefully he’ll be able to get away from all this when the transfer was finished….  
…  
Rin was smiling out the window as he watched the desert scenery roll by. “What are you so happy about?” Edward asked from his seat with a much more bored expression.  
“Are you serious? It’s our first official mission as state alchemist,” he said, “what’s not to be excited about?”  
Edward gan an amused grin. “The fact that it’s just a silly little inspection,” he noted, “It’s not like we’re breaking up a crime ring or anything. We’re just doing a matina ce check on the coal mines.”  
Rin sunk a little in his seat. “Yeah, I guess you have a point,” Rin sighed, “Still its good to be out of town. It's been awhile since I’ve left Central.”   
“Hey look! I think I can see it!” Al said.The train whistle blew as it pulled into the station. The boys stepped out of the station and onto the dusty platform.  
“Wow….” Rin said before scrunching his nose up, “This places is a dump…” It was true. Many of the buildings were practically falling apart. There were several places with tin roofs and shoddy patch jobs over infrastructure. There wasn’t even a paved road.   
“It's supposed to be a coal-mining town, but it looks more like a ghost town to me,” Ed agreed.  
“It so worn down…” Al noted sadly.  
“I wonder if this place even has an inn…” Rin muttered.  
“I guess we can search and find out,” Ed said, “How about you look on the east side Rin, and we’ll check west.” The boy nodded in agreement and headed out.  
…  
Rin felt weird as he wandered through the town. He glanced to the side every so often and when he saw someone, he found them glaring at him. What was with these people? Did they have something against strangers? Rin leaned against a post and huffed. He’d been searching for an Inn for twenty minutes and hadn’t found anything. And any time he as for directions, he’d be ignored. Well, there was no point in just standing here. It wasn’t like the inn was just going to come to him. He started to move away from it when…  
Riiiiiip!  
Rin moved his hand to his shoulder where he found a large tear in the sleeve of his his uniform. He glanced back to the post he had been leaning on and cursed. There had been a large, rusty nail embedded into the post. Rin growled. This whole town was a health hazard. There was no way this could all just have been looked over, How had no one noticed how much this place was out of shape and reported it?!  
Rin shook his head. Well, if no one else was going to, he was...but first he had to patch this up. This was the second time he ruined a uniform. He hoped this didn’t become a trend, otherwise the military was probably going to start taking it out of his salary.  
He saw a genral store up ahead and went inside. There was a woman behind the counter. She looked at him curiously for a moment as the bell jingled but then she scowled like everyone else. Rin inwardly was annoyed with this, but tried to be friendly anyways. “Hey there!” he said, “How’s it going, ma’am?” The woman didn’t respond. “Um...so,” he said, “I don’t suppose you’ve got some needles and thread I could buy?” he asked.  
“I don’t sell to the military,” she hissed, “Now get out.”  
Rin glared at her before complying. “Fine then!” he said as he exited, “I wouldn’t by from a jerk like you anyways!” Rin stepped out of the store grumbling. Why did the people here hate the military so much? Didn’t the military run this town? He shook his head as he continued walking. He was wasting time. The sooner he found the inn, the sooner he could go to bed and not deal with these crazies until morning.  
All of a sudden, something hit him in the backside with a loud splat. He could hear snickering and feel something oozing down his waist cape. Rin slowly reached a hand back to feel what it was. He moved his hand back infront of him and found it covered in black oil.   
Rin clenched his fist and Growled as he turned around. “Hey!” he shouted, “Who’s the idiot that-” Another splat sounded as an oil filled balloon hit him in the chest. He spotted three five year olds and one six year old snickering at him from behind the side of a store. Rin felt his anger boil over. “That’s it!” he snapped, beginning to run after them, “Get over here you brats!” The for kids began to panic and started to run away. “Stop it, you little assholes!” he barked, “Get back here so I can teach you a lesson! This uniform is expensive, you know? Let’s see how you like it when I’m dousing YOU in engine oil!”  
He ran after them for a good ten minutes before he lost them. Rin stood panting, looking every which way before finally growling and giving up. He was still furious, but then he noticed Ed sitting on the stoop of a building. “Hey Ed!” he called crossing the street over to him.  
The boy looked up at him and crooked an eyebrow. “What happened to you?” he questioned.   
Rin huffed. “Some snot nosed brats threw balloons filled with oil at me…” he muttered, “What is it with this town? They really hate the military…”  
“Tell me about it,” Ed grumbled, “I just got kicked out of the inn for being a state alchemist, even though I had been helping them before!”  
“Seriously?!” Rin gave him an incredulous look, “that’s it! I’m giving these people a piece of my mind…”  
He was about to barge into the inn when Ed grabbed his sleeve and stopped him. “Don’t,” he stated sternly, “We aren’t here to cause trouble. Do you really want to go back to your dad and explain to him that you failed your first mission because you ruffed up the townspeople?”  
Rin sighed and sat down next to Ed. “You’re right…” he mumbled.  
“Doesn’t really matter anyways,” Ed said with a shrug, “We wouldn’t have been able to afford a room. They wanted 300,000 cenz a night for one room for three people.”  
“300,000?!” Rin exclaimed, “That’s crazy! And my dad thought 20,000 a night was insane…” Then Rin smirked. “Granted, you would have been able to pay for it if you hadn’t spent the entire afternoon before we left buying anything Winry wanted for herself,” he jabbed, “Sure you guys aren’t together? I know people get gifts for friends, but to take them on a shopping spree and pay for everything? I’d say she has you wrapped around her finger.”  
Ed scowled at him and blushed. “Shut up!” he snapped, punching him in the arm, “She’s just a close friend! Stop assuming things!”  
“Ow!” Rin said rubbing his arm, “Hey! That hurt, you jerk!”  
“Serves you right!” he grumbled before crossing his arms. Then his eyes widened as he realised something. “Speaking of Winry though…,” he said pulling out a small canister of oil she had given him and beginning to oil his arm. He then began checking the joints to make sure the all worked properly. “I guess I should be glad she thought of this,” he said, “I doubt I would have gotten any here…”  
“Well, you probably could have just scraped some off from my uniform,” he joked. That gave Rin a thought. “Hey do you think you could take care of these for me?” he said taking off his jacket and waist cape.   
Ed nodded has he handed them off to him. His stomach growled. “If only Winry cared as much for my human parts as she did the automail!” he joked, “Otherwise I might of had something packed away to tide us over!” He then clapped his hands and touched Rin’s uniform, fixing the stains and tears.  
“I just wish I had a brought a blanket…” Rin muttered as he shivered, “Seriously, what is with these people? I know some people hate the military, but I hadn’t expected a whole town...”  
“It might not be as unreasonable as you think,” Al’s voice rang out. Both turned to see him with a plate of food, “Here you guys. You need this more than me.”   
“Aw, sweet!” Rin cried grabbing the dinner roll from the plate, “Thanks Al!”   
“You’re a lifesaver,” Ed added, grabbing the chicken.  
“So what are they so upset with the military about?” Rin asked between bites.  
“Apparently, they have something against Lieutenant Yoki, the guy running this place. He hasn't been treating them fairly and no one in the military has been doing anything about it,” Al explained.  
“What has he been doing?” Rin said.  
Al was about to respond when they overheard a voice from the front of the inn.   
“Step aside!” a woman demanded. The three boys gave confused looks before sneaking around the corner. They could hear muffled voices from inside. Something about taxes. They approached the window and peered inside to see the workers at the table and a bunch of military men standing in front of the door. One man was holding a tissue to his nose and a woman with short black hair was standing next to him.  
“You're paid so little because that's what you men are worth,” the woman responded.  
“What?” one man shouted, getting up, “You know you can't just lower our wages! And then turn around and raise our taxes and expect us to-”  
“The State has given Lieutenant Yoki unilateral authority over this mine,” the woman cut him off.  
“Shut up!” the guy cried, “He only got to where he is by taking the money we sweat and bled for and using it to bribe the higher-ups!”  
Yoki smirked. “If you've got this all figured out, then perhaps you should try bribing me,” he sneered, causing Rin’s fingernails to dig into the wood grain, “But don't blame me 'cause you have to grease the wheels. It's the way of the world.”  
“Yeah, and sometimes the way of the world is the little man gets beat!” another said, moving to attack Yoki. The small military man cowered behind the woman. She narrowed her eyes and held her hands up to her pendent. The piece in the center began to swirl as a wind current formed in the room. A glowing ball of plasma formed in front of her before exploding, sending everyone flying back. Rin gasped and narrowed his eyes at this while Edward’s frown deepened.  
“Nicely done Lyra!” Yoki said, peeking out from behind her, “It seems the rumors of this establishment becoming a hangout for rebels, toughs, and thugs are true. I may have no choice but to suspend your operating license.”   
Everyone in the room’s eyes widened and Rin began to growl. “What?” the innkeeper cried.  
“No, you can't!” a boy cried before throwing a towel at one of them.  
It hit one of the soldiers in the face. He snarled and grabbed the boy. “You brat!” he spat.  
“Oh! Kyle!” the boy’s mother cried.   
“Don't kill him,” Yoki said with little interest as the man pulled out a sword, “We just want him to be an example.”  
“No!” the innkeeper cried. The man shoved the kid to the ground as he held his blade a loft. Then, a plume of blue fire exploded in the air, pushing the man with the sword away. He stumbled back in surprise.  
“What the-?!” Yoki cried, “W-who did that?! Which one of you ruffians did that?”  
“I did,” a voice snarled. They all turned to see Rin standing in the doorway in his undershirt and military slacks. His hand was held aloft, ready to snap again.   
“W-well you have some explaining to do!” Yoki snapped, but backed away, “How dare you come in here and attack-”  
“No!” Rin snapped marching up to him, “How dare you! You almost had your men attack a child with a goddamn sword! What the actual hell is wrong with you?!”  
“He assaulted my men…” Yoki tried to defend.  
“He threw a towel in his face! If that's what you consider assault the you all should be punished with ten times worse for what you were about to do!” Rin roared, rage in his eyes.   
Lyra stepped in, causing Yoki to smirk. “And just who do you think you are, talking to him like that? He’s a lieutenant in the military,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Rin, “You’re just a child.”  
“No, we’re not,” Ed called as he stepped into the room. He held up his silver pocket watch. “The both of us are state alchemists, sent here to inspect the coal mines. I’m the Fullmetal Alchemist and he’s the Spitfire Alchemist.”  
“State alchemists?!” Yoki squeaked before rushing up to them, “I am so sorry for the confusion and the behavior of my men, sirs! We had no idea! Please, let me make it up to you by letting you stay at my mansion. I hope you haven't had to mingle with these unwashed masses for too long.”  
Edward and Rin shared a look before nodding and going with him. While Rin hated this man, it was hard to say no to free food and a place to sleep, especially when their only other option was sleeping outside. Rin could feel the eyes of the patrons to the inn on them as they left. Some look at them with confusion, others judgment.


	28. To be an alchemist

Rin scarfed down the plate of food as soon as it was brought out to him. To hell with manners. He was hungry and the guy serving him was a jerk! Also the food was amazing! Roy didn’t really take him and his brother to really high-end, gourmet restaurants, and Shiro had never been able to afford that, but Rin imagined this was the kind of food they served.  
Yoki gave a disgusted look before speaking. “It's such a great honor for me to be hosting genuine State Alchemists, such as yourselves, in my home,” giving his biggest, fakest smile, “And since we are so blessed as to have such talented scientists in our midst, you should have them take a look at your alchemic attempts, Lyra.”  
“Yes,” she said smiling, turning to the boys.  
Rin stopped eating and gave her a mistrustful look. “No thanks,” he bit out, “I saw enough of that at the inn.”  
“Yes we did,” Ed gave him a look as he tried to keep the conversation polite, “She liquefied the air around her, reduced its volume and then vaporized it, producing a shockwave. The light came from the heat generated by the forced compression, needed to maintain entropy.”  
Yoki looked impressed. “You could deduce all that just by looking at it?” he responded in amazement.  
Edward nodded and Rin continued to give the two unfriendly look. “Yeah…” he muttered to himself, “And I deduced from it that you both have no human decency.”  
“Actually, my ultimate goal is to become a State Alchemist,” Lyra said happily, moving in between the boys, “to be just like the pair of you. I wish nothing more than to do all that I can do for the State.”  
Rin scooted himself away from her. “Don’t get your hopes up,” he said, “the test is extremely difficult.” He hoped he could get her to give up on the idea. The last thing he wanted was to have to consider her a colleague.  
“I do hope you two have enjoyed your meal,” Yoki said as he commanded Lyra to get dessert.  
“It was pretty nice, you know, considering the economic conditions around here,” Edward politely jabbed, giving the man a hard stare. Rin smirked at this.  
“Times are tough for all of us!” Yoki commented, not batting an eyelash, “I tell you, I've had plenty of trouble collecting taxes. And those miners can be so brutishly obstinate sometimes, as you saw.”  
Rin frowned again and glared at the man. He gripped the fork he had been playing with out of boredom. “And by obstinate, you mean asserting their rights and refusing to pay you more than they earn?” Ed continued, narrowing his eyes.  
“See, you get it!” Yoki chirped, “I knew you were a man of great understanding!” Rin growled and the fork in his hand began to bend. The asshole wasn’t even going to deny it!  
Ed gave him a pointed look to keep calm. “To understand the world, we have only to follow one basic principle; Equivalent Exchange, the founding law of alchemy,” he stated, “You can't get without giving. Right?” Edward bit out that last word.  
“Absolutely. Eloquently put!” the lieutenant nodded, “I myself have long conducted business under a similar guiding principle.” Rin raised an eyebrow. What could he possibly mean by that? “In the spirit of which,” he said, motioning his servent forward with dessert,”uh, Lyra?”  
The woman stepped forward holding a tray with some plates of cheese cake. But that wasn’t the only thing on the plate. The fork snapped and Rin’s eyes widened as she she placed a sack of gold next to both of them. Oh….no way. This was not happening. He was not trying to-  
“Please accept this small token of my appreciation,” the slimey man said with a sly smile.  
He was.  
Rin’s rage was about to boil over. “Are you trying to bribe us, Sir?”Rin bit out, fists shaking.  
“That is such an ugly word,” the man said shaking his head “Why don't we just call it ''Equivalent Exchange?'' Now then, there is the matter of your inspection-”  
Rin slammed his hands on the table and glowered at the man across from him. A loud crack had formed in the fine mahogany dining table as he did so. “No,” he barked, “Don’t you dare call it that. This is anything but equivalent!” The man was shocked as he spoke. “You know nothing about equivalent exchange! You’ve gotten to sit on your ass your whole life, kissing up to people while you leech off what little life these people have! You want to follow ‘equivalent exchange?’ You want to pass the inspection?” he snapped, “Then go back to the town and give them better wages! Go back and use all those taxes to actually take care of the town! You aren’t getting anything from me through some petty bribe, you bastard!”  
“Rin!” Edward snapped, grabbing him by the arm. “Excuse us for a moment,” he said, pulling Rin into the hall. “What the heck are you doing?” he hissed.  
“What the heck am I doing? What are you doing?!” Rin demanded, “Are you really just going to let this guy bribe you like this?! Look at how he’s treating the people of the town! They only hate us because of him!”  
“I know!” Ed growled, “But we can’t afford to stir up trouble. We have to play by the rules. If we cause to many problems, be can lose our positions.”  
“Play by the rules?!” Rin snapped,”You mean let these people live on in agony while we walk away with some gold in our pockets? How can you agree to something like that?!”  
“I don’t!” Edward snapped, “I hate it as much as you, but we don’t have a choice! This is how the military works: on bribes and lying. This is the game they play. And as dogs of the military, we’re bound to follow. We aren’t here to make a difference. We aren’t here to get involved. We’re here to do what they want.” Rin wanted to shout at Edward, but he could see the pain, anger, and frustration in his eyes.  
“Fine,” Rin said, “You do what you think you have to. But I’m not playing by those rules. I’ll be quiet, I won’t cause trouble, but I’m not going to let him bribe me into getting a good inspection. He’s going to have to earn it. Through real ‘equivalent exchange.’” Rin then turned to leave.  
“Where are you going?” Ed asked.  
“To get my stuff and find myself somewhere else to sleep,” he said as he walked off, “I’m not going to let him be able to think I owe him anything.” Edward sighed as he watched him go. Rin was being crazy and reckless, but he kind of wished he was doing as he was now.  
….  
Halling, the innkeeper was surprised to be woken up to find the black haired state alchemist standing at his door.  
“You?!” he balked, “What do you want? I thought I told your friend we aren’t giving rooms to the likes of you.”  
“I don’t want a room,” Rin stated, frown increasing.  
The innkeeper’s brow furrowed. “Then what are you doing here?” he questioned, “Yoki didn’t send you, did he?”  
“Hell no,” Rin spat, “I don’t associate with men like him. All I want is to borrow a few blankets and pillows. I’m sure you have plenty of extra.” The innkeeper looked surprised. “Look,” Rin said, “I’m not going to stay at that asshole’s place nor do I expect to be able to pay for a room let alone for you to give me one. All I want is something to make sure I don’t freeze tonight. I’ll even pay for renting them. That way you’re hurting yourself as much as me by saying no.”  
Halling narrowed his eyes at the boy before him. He was conflicted. The boy was apart of the military, a state alchemist no less. Those thugs had proven time and again that they couldn’t be trusted. But this boy...he had protected his son when they had given him no reason to. Even after they had tossed out his buddy, he helped. Maybe he could be trusted. “2000 cenz,” he finally said, “for two blankets and two pillows for a night.”  
Rin’s mouth twitched in amusement. “So you’re being reasonable with your prices now, huh?” he said.  
“Take that deal before I change my mind,” the man grunted. Rin nodded.  
After getting his bedding he headed into the alley. He transmuted a stack of crates into an awning before lying down beneath it, wrapping himself up. He tossed and turned, though not because he was having difficulty getting comfortable. He could fall asleep anywhere if he really wanted to. What was keeping him awake was the question of if this really was how the military worked. Did the government really run on bribes and cheating? Were a majority of the higher ups more concerned with their positions then the people they were supposed to protect? Was he really just supposed to sit by and do nothing?...And what of his dad, Maes, and the rest of the team? Did they stand by the same principles?  
Rin shook his head. Of course they didn’t! They weren’t like Basque Grand, Archer, or Yoki...And neither was he. He wasn’t going to let Yoki get away with this. He was going to prove to these people that this man didn’t reflect the entire military and that most importantly, Yoki didn’t reflect him. With that, he curled up and tried to sleep.  
A few hours later, he was awoken by a noise. It was some kind of whistling noise, as if the wind was swirling something around. Rin stood up and walked around the building….just in time to watch it explode.  
….  
They all stared at the heap of rubble that had been the inn. Rin’s fists were shaking. Yoki had sent that Lyra woman to destroy the inn. Whether it was just to spite the townsfolk or to possibly get rid of him, he didn’t know. Luckily, no one had been killed. That was only thanks to Al, however, as he had pulled the innkeeper’s son to safety.  
Ed ran up to the scene of the crime in the early morning light. He glared at the mess before him. “Yoki did this?” he said more than asked.  
Al nodded. Everyone looked on sadly. The boy Kyle then turned to him. “Please, you’re a super smart alchemist,” he pleaded, “Can’t you make my dad some gold to get Yoki off our backs?”  
“No,” Ed said looking away, clearly pained in doing so, “I can’t just go around making gold for people. Everything runs on equivalent exchange. Someone would have to pay the price.”  
Kyle looked furious and pained. “What? Are you going to make us bribe you too?” he shouted, tears in his eyes.  
“This isn’t about money. It’s illegal. I could lose my license for that,” Ed explained coldly, “Heck I could be put in jail for that. Not that it would matter. It would all go back to Yoki in taxes anyways…” Those last few words were bitter.  
“But we are going to help,” Rin stated. Ed turned to him in surprise and slight betrayal. He marched up to Ed. “I’m not going to stand by and watch this man ruin their lives anymore,” he said, “We can’t just walk away from this.”  
“We’re just here to do our job and finish our inspection,” Ed argued weakly, looking away, “our duty is to the state, not the people.”  
“But we are doing our job,” Rin fought, “The state is the country so the people are the state. Alchemists: be thou for the people. That’s supposed to be our stupid motto right? Well how about we start living it?” “And if you want to talk about equivalent exchange, well how about this,” Rin continued, “Yoki has had a lot coming to him for all he’s done, why not be the ones to dish it to him? There’s gotta be something we can do! Prove he’s been bribing people to give false reports? Get him arrested for destroying property? Uncover his treatment of these miners?”  
Ed looked up again, a fire in his eyes. “I know what we can do,” he announced, “Al, Rin, come with me. I’ve got a plan.” His red coat billowed as he headed in the direction of the coal mines. The two shared a look before following him.  
“Brother? What are we going to do?” Alphonse asked.  
Edward turned and smiled at him, shaking the sack of gold Yoki had given him. “Making a little fools gold,” he said.  
….  
Halling sat at the bar with the rest of his friends. He glared at his cup. He knew he shouldn’t be wasting his money drinking, but he didn’t know what else to do. His home and business were both gone and now the alchemists had disappeared. He had no idea what he was going to do next. He’d need a miracle.  
Suddenly the doors opened to the bar. “Hey everyone! Turn those frowns upside down!” Al called as he, Ed, and Rin entered the room, all smiling smugly.  
The men glared at them. “What do you three want?” Halling huffed.  
Rin and Ed smirked. “Now, now,” Rin said, “Is that anyway to talk to your new mayors?”  
Ed pulled out the deed to the mine, showing it off to all of them. “As you can see, I hold in my hand the title deed to the mine, trade routes, and entire town of Youswell,” he quipped, continuing to show it off.  
“W-where did you get that?!” one man demanded.  
“Oh, you know, we just bought it from Yoki with some gold we acquired…” Rin said, remembering how easily they swindled the man. The guy was an idiot. They even managed to get him to hand it over to them as a “gift” so he could keep the “gold” to himself. Greedy fool.  
“However…” Ed said, “We have to be getting back to our busy lives in Central.”  
“Oh, shoot, you’re right!” Rin said still smiling, “We’ll have no time to look after this dingy old town.”  
“I'm not even sure this is worth carrying to the city with us!” Ed exclaimed, “It's so heavy!”  
“So, you're gonna try and sell it to us for a profit?” Halling growled.  
“Afraid so,” Rin said, shaking his head.  
“And it ain't gonna be cheap,” Ed said, “You remember Equivalent Exchange, don't you? After all, not only is this deed written on high-grade parchment, it's got gold leaf trim on the edges. It comes in a box decorated with finely crushed jade in a nonchalant, yet, at the same time, luxurious design. Oh yeah, this is craftsmanship. And the key's sterling silver! Gee I'd say it's gotta be worth around two hundred K.”  
“I’d say more like three hundred K, brother,” Al added.  
The men looked baffled. “Only three hundred K?” Halling said.  
“You know, now that I think about it,” Ed said, tapping his chin, “a room at the inn costs three hundred thousand. We’ll spend the night and let's call it even!”  
“But wait!” one of the men said, “the inn was busted up!”  
“Hmm. Really?” Rin said, “Then what's that over there?” Alphonse opened the door to reveal the inn to be good as new.  
“It’s new again!” Halling’s wife cried, “Like magic.”  
“More like alchemy,” Ed said crossing his arms smugly.  
“So do we have a deal?” Rin asked.  
Halling looked at him, eyes shining with glee. “You bet, kid,” he responded, shaking Rin’s hand. Rin smiled back. As they headed into the inn, Rin glanced around at all the warm, joyous faces.  
Unfortunately, the joy and rapture was cut off by a sniveling voice cutting into the air.” Elric! What's the meaning of this?” They turned to see Yoki standing with Lyra and a few other men, “All of a sudden the gold bars you gave me turned to stone! I want the deed back now!”  
“Gold?” Rin said playing innocent, “We didn’t give you any gold. You gave us the deed as a gift!”  
“Yeah, I'm pretty sure you handed it over to us free of charge, didn't you?” Ed said cheekily, pulling the paper off the table and holding it up, “At least, that's what it says in the letter.”  
The man growled. “Errrrrr….You little brats!” he hissed, “Lyra!” The woman stepped forward and held her hands to her pendent. The energy around it began to swirl. As iff by instinct, Edward clapped his hands and brought them to the ground, creating a wall to protect them. The energy hit it and resounded with a loud boom, but the wall remained. As Edward made the wall recede, Rin snapped his fingers, causing a burst of flames and sending the woman flying back into the side of a building.  
Rin marched over to her and snatched the amulet from around her neck. “Attacking an officer? Really?” he tutted, “You’re never going to make state alchemist that way.”  
She glared at him. “How can you do this?” She hissed, “How can you claim to be state alchemists and yet so blatantly betray the state?”  
“We aren’t,” Edward said, “We serve the people as much as we do the government. We’re supposed to anyways. It’s people like you and Yoki that mess it up.”  
“You cursed boy!” he cried before turning to his other men, “Seize the deed from--” He stopped as he found that Alphonse had tied them up. Then, a few of the miners surrounded him and smiled at Yoki maliciously. They cracked their knuckles and the scrawny man audibly swallowed.  
As they all headed into the inn and tucked into dinner, there was a mirth among the townsfolk that hadn’t been seen in a long time. Rin glanced around at the warm in the room as the men and women raised a glass in a toast to their new found freedom. He had one thought on his mind: he officially loved his job.  
…  
Roy continued to pack up up his things. A cat carrier sat on the bed for Kuro. While he didn’t plan on taking everything with him, there were definitely a few things that needed to come with him, and other things he didn’t feel comfortable leaving out of his sight.  
He’d admit, he wasn’t entirely delighted with moving to East City. Packing was a pain, but not only that, the city was full of corrupted figures in its ranks. However, with Rin and Edward’s little stunt in Youswell, that might be changing soon.  
He sighed as remembered getting the call at his office. Rin had been so proud of himself and bragged about what they had done. He had congratulated them for their work, but that didn’t stop him from frowning when Rin said he could get used to missions like this. Roy had promptly reminded him that not all missions would be so fun or easy, but that didn't seem to discourage him. Roy was unsurprised by this, but none the less disappointed.  
Roy continued to clean out his closet, looking for a very specific item. He pulled out a large black case from the back of the storage area and smiled. Good. There wasn’t a chance he was leaving this behind. He unlocked the three different combination locks before opening it and examining what was inside: the koma sword.  
Roy didn’t like to touch it. When he did he could feel shivers go down his spine, as if he could instinctively feel the demon energy inside. Simply being near it was fine however, but as the years passed he had noticed if he got too close, the thought would pop into his head to try and open it to see what would happen. He wasn’t a fool, however, and never entertained the idea, but sometimes he wondered if it was his own human curiosity giving him the idea or that the nature hidden within sword itself was somehow reaching out to him, begging to be set free.  
Roy removed his hand from the sword and shut the black case. He didn’t like the idea that an object might have its own agenda, but according to Shiro and his notes, that was not uncommon for possessed items. It made him want to destroy it, but he knew that would only help it achieve its goal. All he could do was hide it and hope it collected dust, undisturbed for all eternity. No one knew about it except he and the boys and he intended for it to stay that way. After all, no one tries to steal what they don’t know about.  
Suddenly, the phone began to ring. Roy walked over to it and picked it up. “Hello?”  
“Hey Dad,” Yukio said, “How are you doing?”  
“Good,” he responded, “I’m just finishing packing up to transfer. I sent you the new phone number and mailing address in a letter. How are you doing settling in?  
“I’m fine,” he said, “I have a dorm to myself which is nice. How is Rin doing?”  
“He’s completed his first mission,” Roy responded.  
“Good for him,”  
“Yukio…” Roy said, “You know I’m still upset about you hiding his application from me.”  
The boy on the other end sighed. “I know,” he responded, “but do you really think either of us would have been able to stop him? If he hadn’t succeeded with it this year, he would have just tried again the next.”  
“I won’t deny you have a point,” Roy said with a sigh.  
There was a pause before either of them spoke again “Dad,” Yukio spoke up, “There’s something I wanted to ask you about…It’s important.”  
Roy frowned and raised an eyebrow. “What is it?” he asked. The boy paused again before speaking again. Roy frowned as he explained himself but continued listening anyways. He wasn’t happy he had asked this, but he supposed it was inevitable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God this was the worst chapter to do. I do not enjoy doing copy paste plots, but sometimes its a nessesity. I needed to write Rin's reaction to the town of Youswell. However, I'm cosidering just skipping over liore for similar reasons. Let me know if you guys are ok with that.  
> Also, this is tecnically the last chapter of this story, because I'm splitting it in two. I'll be posting a second title with the remader of the story but it won't be happening for a few days. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this so far. Let me know what you think.


End file.
